I could never sleep on a plane. Like I’m flying this big behemoth by myself across the ocean. The flight from Stockholm to JFK was probably the longest of my life and it sure felt like it. Plenty of time to contemplate the situation that I was in again. It’s not like the return of my CML has left my mind for more than maybe a couple of minutes while I’m busy with other matters, it’s front and center the majority of my time. Keeping the bad news between Lori and I was also a great chore. The questions always coming at us from our parents and family. Just relentless. I’ve got to put on that happy face and march on towards the upcoming showdown in January at U of P. Cancer Center. My big meeting with the powers that be in the blood cancer center would be interesting. My new Oncologist, Dr. Selina Luger, was already working on the new plan of action to fight my relapse and aversion to Gleevec. Being the only patient/human in the world with this deadly mutation is making me a long term volunteer to test the effectiveness of whatever new drug the team deems to be the best fit for a cure.
My Norwegian Airways flight touched down around midnight on the JFK tarmac Saturday evening to a very black sky and a chilly November night. Lor was waiting for me and we headed to the Bronx to stay the night. The next day, after sleeping a little, Lor and I would head south to get to our home sweet home and some good food! I took Sunday off to get back on my time, USA time, and get some well deserved rest. I needed to get back to reality! The holidays were here and I needed to get my team up to par and ready to rumble. I was expecting a good season. Hoping for it too. I had been taking 600 mg of Gleevec at this point and Dr Luger was planning on moving that up to 800 mg sooner than later. We stretched into December and attacked the holiday season with a huge army of new and old salespeople. Again, I ran the floor of four to five employees like an NFL quarterback. Like clockwork, the girls kicked it in and performed spectacularly as the cash register dinged and the shoppers moved like a ballet through the store. Thanks for another great holiday season.
We knew that Joe was flying in for Christmas but we didn’t know that it would be for good. He got back to the US from Sweden on the 23rd of December harboring some bad news. He was stopped in Brussels- Belgium on his connector flight and flagged for over staying his work visa. He could not return to Europe for six months! All of his personal belongings were in Tibro. His computer, hockey equipment, clothes etc. We tried everything to reinstate him. No luck. He would enjoy a quick respite with the family and sign immediately with the Mentor Icebreakers in the Federal Hockey League. The FHL was a Northern, East coast and Southern states pro hockey league. He had Charles, his Swedish teammate, FedEx his equipment and some other things from Tibro. Joe would report in three days to Mentor Ohio. Much closer than Sweden! I was reporting too… front and center to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Luger was awaiting my arrival. The Phlebotomist too. A ton of vials lined the case holding the upright rubber topped vessels. I think Ms. Dracula filled about nine test tubes as the lightheaded feeling kicked in. I was escorted with Lor, to a small exam room where Dr Luger would deliver her assessment, her opinion, and her treatment. I was her new Leukemia test dummy.
Knock, Knock….the door opened and the very beautiful, intimidating and intelligent Dr. Luger entered the room. She stared at me for a few minutes. Lining me up per say, scaring me a little bit. She noted that the excessive blood draw was in case of an emergency where I could possibly be in need of a quick bone marrow transplant. That would suck. We don’t want that. My results returned quickly showing an upward trend in my white cell count. Not the answer that we wanted. Their answer would be Tasigna. The next level of treatment for me to try to get free and clear from this bastard CML. I would begin taking 800 mg starting immediately and call the nurse moderator with any issues. Crossing fingers…here we go again.
NEXT UP: Hives and more Hives
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