Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Maintenance Update

Carla has been having blood tests and a Velcade IV every Wednesday at Cox Hospital in Springfield. She has been doing well. Her blood counts have dropped but the Arkansas myeloma doctors say that is normal. She did feel well enough that we were able to visit Carla's mother and sister in California for a week in February.

Last week we went to Little Rock for three days of testing and meeting with doctors. She has a PET scan, a bone marrow biopsy and a full-body MRI. The myeloma doctor said the scans showed no new bone lesions and her old lesions were disappearing or getting smaller. Her pain doctor has started her on pain medication specifically for neuro-pain. They plan to decrease her oxycontin dosage. Currently she is ramping up the dosage of the new pain medication. The pain doctor felt the pain level was normal for four months out from major spine surgery. The spine surgeon thought her back was now strong enough for Carla to do most things as long as she didn't attempt to stoop or bend her back.

Basically we were encouraged by the test results and conferences with her three doctors. Carla's next quarterly check up will be in June. Until then, she will continue her weekly chemo sessions in Springfield. The blood samples for the myeloma markers will only be shipped to Little Rock once a month rather than the current two times per month.

We appreciate all the prayer support for Carla. We were able to rent one of the Home Away from Home apartments for the three nights we were in Little Rock. This was much better than going to a motel!

Carla is feeling well enough that she is busy landscaping our yard and getting on with the painting and minor remodeling jobs on our house that were postponed when she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.