I’m here!  Wow, what a busy last few weeks!  First and foremost, my most recent check-up was great!  Two weeks ago my liver enzyme counts were pretty high.  This is not unexpected due to the number of drugs I have to take that have to filter through my liver, but it is something that can be serious and must be watched and acted on if necessary.  This week my counts were back down to normal.  Yahoo!  Also, my hemoglobin count is going up, which indicates that my mismatch blood type with my donor (I was originally A+, but after transplant became my donors blood type B+) is transitioning nicely.  Dr. P was happy with this….me too!  Mouth rashes and skin irritation is slowly improving so Dr. P said I can attempt to lower my Prednisone (steroid) down to 15 mg/day from 20 mg/day.  It’s a small decrease, but at this point it is important to go down slowly and monitor my body’s reactions.  It is not an immediate reaction, so over the course of the next few weeks I hope to see positive results.  I am dealing with swelling in my left lower leg and ankle that doesn’t hurt, but I have to keep it elevated as much as possible…after my morning gym work out, of course.  I am not scheduled for my next doctors appointment for 3 weeks!

Steve, Christian, Lauren and I took a wonderful, needed, and well deserved family trip to Florida.  After almost a year of this battle, we as a family really needed to “get out of the element”, go somewhere where we could relax and escape the stresses and “fears” of  this Leukemia.  No one knew us, and we enjoyed quality family time that we all truly missed out on this last year.  We participated in a  Walt Disney World 5K  run as a family.  I wanted Christian and Lauren to realize that life will get back to normal soon, and Mom is still Mom!  We didn’t really want to come home!

It is with deep sorrow that I mention that my sister Heather’s sister-in-law, Sarah Allison Greene (Allie), passed away last Tuesday March 1, 2011.  She battled colon cancer for two years.  This last year she and I had a connection with our diseases and we were able to share stories about our treatments and feelings.  If you are local to Orange County, you may have heard about Allie and her beautiful life in the newspaper or on channel 7 news.  Her husband Brian celebrated her life with a “Cancer Free Party” following her funeral service in a big, red barn as Allie had always wished for.  The party was emotional and inspirational, and most of all, fun!   Allie will always live in our hearts.  She was 31 years old and is survived by her husband Brian and 3 year old beautiful daughter, Riley.

Once again, God has our plan.  I have a gift of life here on earth that I will never take advantage of and always respect and honor.  Allie now has an eternal life watching over us and guiding her daughter through life from above.  No one has the answers, we just need to BELIEVE!

I know my entries have become less frequent, but I will keep writing!  Just keep checking!

It is with God’s grace, family, loved ones, and friends that I keep on keepin’ on!

Karen