For my medical friends, I will start with a riddle and then explain to the others why this day has been so pivotal, and good. Bernie Sanders would even say this is Hoouge!
Table of my basic labs this week:
| Tests | 1/11/2019 | 1/12/2019 | 1/13/2019 | 1/14/2019 | 1/15/2019 | 1/15/2019 | 16-Jan | 1/17/1900 | 1/18/2018 | 1/19/2019 | 1/20/2019 |
| Creat | 11.5 | 10.36 | 10.28 | 9.93 | 9.52 | 10.03 | 9.65 | 7.16 | 6.6 | 4.86 | |
| Bun | 125 | 123 | 115 | 124 | 128 | 141 | 144 | 98 | 61 | ||
| Ca | 8.3 | 8 | 7.5 | 6.9 | 7.7 | ||||||
| Hgb | 9.6 | 9.5 | 8.6 | 8 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 7.5 | ||||
| HCt | 27.7 | 26.4 | 23.3 | 22.4 | 21.1 | 20.4 | |||||
| K | 6.9 | 5.9 | 4.5 | 4 | 3.7 | 4 | 3.5 | 3.9 | |||
| Anion Gp | 13 | 13 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 14 |
I will point out that I had dialysis on 1/17 and 1/19. Do you see it? It is coming! My creatinine dropped on 1/18, a non-dialysis day! I have kidney function!!!!! I don’t know how much, but my kidneys are not completely dead. My nephrologist had a big smile on her face.
This is a big help in the battle going forward. Yes, I still have an incurable cancer, but it takes you out by killing your kidneys and bones (as well as more complicated ways).
Now, to the practical. I was feeling better this morning in direct relationship to the numbers coming down. I washed my hair, by myself. Today, was my 4 – hour plasamaphersis, which removes the bad cancer plasma from my blood (so I do get more kidney damage). After this treatment, when all my blood is practically taken out and put back in, leaves me quite wiped out.
I joined a Multiple Mylenoma support group today, online, and finally heard “horror” stories from people who started out like me (or worse in a couple of cases) and survived, some for several years. All I had been hearing is, “People rarely recover from where you are.”
I am happy to say that after living near death for several days, I am now serious with a long-road ahead, but I feel I’m out of the woods for a respite. I can refocus from saying goodbye to my dear family, into planning for treatment, with a hope for a remission. Thanks for so many of you who have prayed for us.
I am sorry for typos. I am very high on steroids, I have to type with IVs in my hands and tubes in my chest and the time I can type is so limited that I don’t have time to proof-read. I have also read many “well-wishes” from people and I would love to respond when I can, but I do read them.
J. Michael Jones 
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