Well a new month is starting and it is a cold and dreary day in Houston but we got some good news this morning. My CE 34 now is 11 and the Neupogen shots have been increased to 4 per day (there was a misunderstanding by Arthur and me of what the doctor said. He said he told us 2 and 2 per day with 7-8 hours between. What we heard was 2 per day. Oh well, when I got back to the apartment I gave myself 2 shots). The Neupogen does make you ache all over. The ache comes from deep in the bones and is very pronounced but will subside when I go off the Neupogen.

Since this was the first day after the installation of the catheter, they wanted to check it and it was fine. I had no bruising or redness so their compliments went to the surgeon. We went to classes on care of the catheter and did well on the tests. Arthur will have to go to two more classes and then they will give him the supplies needed when the catheter is not taken care of at the hospital but at the apartment. The patient can do the flush and change the cap but the caregiver must do the cleaning. It is just too hard for the patient to maneuver everything and do it correctly. He will do a great job because he has done almost the same thing before. He had to take care of my temporary port when I received chemo back in 2000.

They have scheduled my first Stem Cell Harvest for 8:30 in the morning (Wednesday) so we are ready to start the next step of the procedure. I will be at the hospital at 7:00 to give blood, again, and then to the Pheresis Clinic for the first collection.