Day 40 -- exit interview, green light to go home!

Staybridge hotel

Today Doug had a repeat echocardiogram study of his heart. The cardiologist called us later to say that Doug's heart "is functioning normally" and to stay on the heart meds. Wow - that is great news. The doc said that when this kind of virus infects the heart, there are two ways it goes: 1, the patient gets sicker and needs a heart transplant, 2, the patient gets better and eventually recovers completely. We are so very thankful that Doug's heart is okay!! Praise the Lord.

We also had the "Exit interview" for the transplant program. The main purpose is to remind us of all the restrictions and safety measures we need to take. Doug needs to avoid crowds and be cautious of how he eats for at least 90 days post transplant. No salad bars, delicatessens, buffets or potlucks, etc. There are other restrictions -- too numerous to mention them all.
His immune system won't be normal for one year. No yard work for six months -- this is mainly to avoid spores that can cause pneumonia. At the one year mark, the doc will do titers of the blood to see what immunizations Doug will need.

He needs blood work done every two weeks but we can do that at the clinic in Buena Vista. We will need to travel to Denver for follow-ups with the transplant team at the 3 month (bone marrow biopsy to be done then), 6 month points and then yearly. But Dr. Matous has arranged for Doug's monthly oncology visits to be done nearby in Salida -- that will be very helpful.

We are optimistic that Doug will go into a remission and have good quality of life without chemo. In our copies of the consent form it says "In general, the risk of myeloma coming back after autologous transplants is more than 90%." So the question is when -- I am thinking years. And really, none of us has any guarantee of how long we will live. If and when the myeloma comes back, there will be treatment available. Until then, we will live life, hopefully with a new appreciation.

We have been in Denver for 56 days and Doug was in the hospital for 31 days.
I think we are going to be traveling a smoother road on the next part of this myeloma journey.

Tomorrow our friends Cathy and Jim are coming to help us schlep all our stuff and drive us home!

Love to all.