Good checkup but "Mild Kidney Damage"

Yesterday we went to see Doug's oncologist in Salida, Dr Adam Myers. He sees Doug every two months.
Results of the last "multiple myeloma panel" blood test (that is sent to the Mayo Clinic) shows no evidence of any plasma (myeloma) cells in the blood -- good!

However, Doug now has "mild kidney damage". Doug's Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) last October was 59. Now it is 47.

Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is a test used to check how well the kidneys are working. Specifically, it estimates how much blood passes through the tiny filters in the kidneys, called glomeruli, each minute.

When I asked Dr. Myers if that means that Doug has kidney damage, he said "Yes, mild damage."
He didn't elaborate, so I surfed the web to find out more. I try to be careful of sources so I went to www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus

"According to the National Kidney Foundation, normal results range from 90 - 120 mL/min. Older people will have lower normal GFR levels, because GFR decreases with age.
Levels below 60 mL/min for 3 or more months are a sign of chronic kidney disease. Those with GFR results below 15 mL/min are a sign of kidney failure."

I really don't like the drop from 59 to 47 in three months time. Dr. Myers doesn't seem overly concerned at this point.

We know that MM can affect the kidneys. Pieces of monoclonal antibodies, known as light chains, frequently end up in the collecting system of the kidneys, sometimes permanently damaging them by interfering with their filtering function.

Not much to be done except to keep Doug hydrated - so I will keep encouraging him to drink a lot. Encouraging morphs into nagging very easily!  It wouldn't hurt to limit salt intake either.

Meanwhile, life is good -- we are walking more, as weather allows. We look forward to taking the truck camper out and going to Texas next month.

Love to all.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Wow, this year is almost over. What a year it has been. Eight months since Doug's stem cell transplant. His remission is holding. Of course no one can see into the future, but we expect the best. Myeloma has changed us as a couple; by far most of the changes are positive. We know that life is fragile and unpredictable. We know this in our minds, but now also in our gut. I still have occasional flashbacks -- to that awful day when Doug's heart stopped.

We have learned, and re-learned, to have trust and faith in God. We are enriched and strengthened by having gone through a very rough ordeal; we have come out the other side better people. 

I think we all must adjust our attitude daily. It is only too easy to fall back into old habits! Doug and I have so very much to be thankful for. Faith, Family, Friends -- these are what is important. I like that saying: "The most important things in life are not things."

Thanks for walking with us on this journey. We wish each of you Joy and Peace in the coming year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Merry Christmas 2009

Doug had his eye checkup this week. The glaucoma (brought on by the steroids he used to take with the chemo) has stabilized and his eyesight is good. Just need to keep up the eye drops but that is no big deal. Our eyesight is so important and we don't take it for granted. We know quite a few people who have limited eyesight. Most of them manage beautifully but it must be difficult.

We will go to Christmas Eve services at our church tonight, then help with the food for the fellowship afterward. Tomorrow we will go to Denver for Christmas with Kelly and Jamee and our five grandkids.
We have so much to be thankful for this year. It can be summed up this way: Faith, Family, Friends.

May the Lord bless you

with the gift of His perfect peace

This Christmas and a sense of

His presence in your heart every day.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Pacemaker is working

We drove down to Salida a couple of days ago, so Doug could have his pacemaker checked.  A technician comes from Colorado Springs cardiology to Salida. Doug didn't even have to take off his shirt. The tech slung what looked like a large computer mouse over Doug's shoulder so it was resting over the pacemaker, put EKG type leads on Doug's wrists and ankles, and turned on his computer.
Evidently the pacemaker holds up to 18 months of information - it records whenever it is pacing. Turns out that Doug's heart needs the pacemaker 25% of the time. Whenever his heart rate goes below 55, the pacer kicks in. I asked what would be happening if Doug didn't have the pacemaker -- the tech said that Doug would probably be passing out at times. Good thing he has one!

The pacer battery looks like it has 7 to 8 more years of life left; it only uses a tiny bit of charge each time it fires for a fraction of a second. Sure glad we have modern technology -- can you imagine life without batteries?

So far, so good

We got the results of Doug's most recent blood panel -- good news. No signs of myeloma cells in the blood. Another "whew"!  Dr. Myers, our local oncologist, said that he isn't worried about Doug's kidney function although the BUN is rising and was 24. So if he isn't going to worry (yet) then we won't either.

So we continue to be very fortunate. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving -- great to be surrounded by grandchildren, not to mention all the good food. On the way home from Pueblo we took a scenic route and had a spectacular view of the snow capped Sangre de Cristo mountains ahead of us. Then a little while later a coyote crossed the road about 200 feet in front of us. He was a big handsome fellow and was out hunting. We saw him pounce on his intended meal, probably a rabbit.

Doug is fighting a sore throat but it is getting better, so he has some disease resistence, yea! 
We hope all of you are well.

THANKSGIVING 2009

We had a very meaningful Thanksgiving service at church this morning. In addition to wonderful music and a new video, several young folks ranging in age from 10 to teenagers, came up and read scripture. Their quiet confidence was awesome. Then we had an extended time for "praise and thanksgiving (also prayer requests)" from the congregation. We do this fairly regularly -- a microphone is brought around to whoever raises his or her hand. Today there were so many folks who stood up and told their stories of how God had answered prayers and blessed them. I am proud and humbled to say that Doug was one of them -- he told how he believed that God and many prayers had saved his life. We are truly so blessed and thankful.

We will spend Thanksgiving Day with family at the home of our daughter-in-law Jamee's parents, in Pueblo. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. No gift-giving or excess commercialization. Just gathering together with appreciation, and of course, lots of good food!

Still can't publish photos. Our computer has been repaired, runs faster now and hopefully with a bit more tinkering the D drive will cooperate.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Heart Healthy -- almost

Yesterday we went to Salida for Doug's appointment with the Cardiologist. We saw a different doc this time -- Dr. Cole, who we liked. This cardiology group comes from Colorado Springs to Salida once a week. We hope we can see Dr. Cole on a regular basis and not have a different doc each time. Anyway, the 30 minute drive to Salida sure beats going over the mountains to Denver.
Before seeing the doc, Doug had a repeat Echocardiogram (cardiac ultrasound). When Dr. Cole came to see Doug, he had the report: Doug's heart is "almost back to normal". Sounds good to us!
Since Doug is still getting dizzy when he bends over, and the transplant oncologist thought the dizzness might be due to the Coreg (beta-blocker heart drug), we asked if Doug could stop the Coreg. Dr. Cole said he thinks the Coreg is still necessary. It lowers the blood pressure, which is a good thing for Doug's heart, to help it pump more easily. Doug is also on Lisinopril which is another heart drug. So although he has to stay on both drugs, Dr. Cole did stop the diuretic Aldactone. One less pill to take! Dr. Cole says he wants to see Doug in three months and will re-evaluate then, possibly reducing the dose of Coreg. "One thing at a time." Yesterday Doug's blood pressure was 90/68. Dr. Cole thought that was pretty good.

Dr. Cole also decided to do another EKG. That showed that the pacemaker is firing. Kind of surprising news to us, since the Denver cardiologist didn't think the pacer would be used. Cole said that at some point it might be a good idea to put in a different kind of pacemaker, one with the usual two wires. At the time the pacemaker was put in, Doug's atrium did not have the electrical activity for a wire (aka lead), so the primitive one-lead was used. He said the EKG showed that the heart "has not completely recovered from the heart block".

So we got kind of a mixed message, but overall it was a good report. Considering that seven months ago Doug's heart was severly compromised and barely functioning, and he was close to death's door, we are happy! Praise the Lord.

We took our truck camper to Denver a couple of weeks ago and had a nice visit with family. We look forward to many more trips -- there is much of Colorado we have not seen yet.

Today we are having snow -- the world outside is all white and very beautiful. Especially when we don't have to go anywhere!
Life is good!

Love to all.