Journey to a Cure

 “Country roads, take me home, to the place, I belong” We arrived in Houston on October 28, 2020 during the aftermath of Hurricane Zeta and finally left Houston on February 19, 2021 during the cleanup of the worst winter storm to hit Texas in decades.   That’s 114 days for those counting, like Connie and I.  The winter disaster in Texas was as crippling as you read - millions including us were out of power, heat, water and even internet for several full days.  Even the hospitals were closed for a full week, primarily due to a lack of running water.  Houston really showed it’s true colors with neighbors helping each other and even “Mattress Mack” opening his mattress showrooms to help those in need of a warm place to sleep. The big Day +100 milestone (from the donor cell transplant on November 6th) came and went as it was overshadowed by the winter disaster.  We had remained in Houston for a final blood test in order to leave with confidence that my White Bl...

The past couple weeks have been another rollercoaster ride for us down in Houston.   We had the expectation of returning to Colorado on February 11th.  We even met with our survivorship counselor in preparation to fly the MD Andersen nest.  She walked us through the timeline through the next 2 years including return trips to Houston, weening off medications, vaccinations, and transitioning care to my doctors in Colorado.   However two weeks ago, my white blood cell count started to decline.  After being in the 4s for the past 6 weeks, it ended last week on a downward trend to 0.7.  This is extremely low, at a point it hasn't been since late November while still in the hospital.   My doctor could not explain it but her hypothesis was either an infection or an autoimmune issue.  She describes my current state as “a battle raging between my original cells and the donor cells”.  I was given a Neupogen shot to encourage my bone marrow to produce m...