Steady As She Goes

This is a phrase indicating instruction from the captain to the helmsman of a ship to keep the ship heading steadily on the same course regardless of gusts of wind or cross currents.  That sounds like a fairly accurate description of where I am right now.  I have been steadily receiving my Campath injections for almost three weeks.  A sudden gust at the beginning of week two caused the captain to introduce Neupogen to help keep me on course without sinking the ship.  So far, so good.  My counts continue to climb back into the normal range.

The early onset of thunderous side effects has calmed.  The few that remain or that have recently appeared do not rock the boat like their predecessors.  The headaches are minimal, and I have had no further fever, chills or rigors.  Fatigue is still my daily companion accompanied by increased body/bone ache (due in part to the Neupogen).  The newest squall is a pesky rash, looking more akin to hives, which appears on my face and neck every evening.  Last night was the worst.  After dinner and visiting with Paul and his son Chris, I looked like I had the mumps.   I decided to take an oatmeal bath and soak my face!  I followed that with Aveno lotion, Cortizone cream, two Benedryls, and finally Benedryl gel, which brought the relief needed to sleep.  I should market the mix because this morning my skin looked amazing!  :)  But the rash will most likely return again this evening.  It’s the Campath.

I have been able to wrap my head around most everything we have learned and the choices that have been made on my behalf, but I have to admit that I have not been able to totally understand the relationship between Campath and Neupogen. The goal of Campath is to knock down the leukemia and get me into remission. The Neupogen’s role is to salvage my neutrophils in order to keep my ship from sinking while the hull is being cleaned. My concern was whether or not the Campath could be as effective in its destroying if the Neupogen was rebuilding at the same time. I also wasn’t certain if my increased numbers meant that I was no longer immunocompromised. While I trust the doctors’ judgment, I just needed to understand. Dr. O’Brien’s PA, Jill, emailed a response to my question. “The Campath targets the lymphocytes, and the Neupogen builds the neutrophils, so unrelated to each other (even though they both are part of the white blood cells). Yes, you are still very immunocompromised because of the Campath. More for viral-type illnesses which is where the lymphocytes are important.”

OK.  Good enough.  While the Campath does lower all my numbers, not just my lymphocytes, it’s an answer I can wrap my head around.  

So we will continue sailing through another week of Campath and look forward to my bone marrow biopsy on March 26 to see what kind of damage it did there.  No worries.  We want it to have done some damage!  If it has successfully knocked down the bad guys, we will get ready to proceed to transplant.  If it’s working but still has more to do, then we will hoist the sail for another four weeks.  Whatever the case, the waters are less choppy than before and we are trusting Him to see us through.

“Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, 
and He brought them out of their distress.  

He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.  

They were glad when it grew calm, and He guided them to their desired haven.  

Let them give thanks to the LORD for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men.

Psalm 107: 28-31