Day -4

Today is the day. I am watching the Melphalan drip into Blaine's IV. This is the bone marrow killer, and after this there is no turning back. If he were only to receive the chemo, and for some reason did NOT receive his stem-cells, as the nurse says, he'd be "pushin' daisies." No one has ever done the chemo and not the stem-cells. That's the good news. On Monday, day -1, Blaine will receive another dose of Melphalan, and on Tuesday, day 0, he will be infused with his own stem cells. Then we wait. Days 5-9 are said to be the toughest with symptoms that can range from nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and severe mouth sores, to drops in blood pressure and abnormal heart rates (on the bright side, there are those who experience very little of these). His blood counts will drop down to zero at this point. Everyone experiences this. He will be receiving blood products, obviously, and shots to stimulate white cell production. These are all knowns, and they have protocol to handle each situation. During the period from about day 5 through day 14 or later, he will be extremely susceptible to infection, and we will stay within 10 minutes of Huntsman Cancer Hospital until engraftment. We know when engraftment has occurred because his counts begin to rise again, and reach a level where he is still vulnerable, but not to such an extreme. At that point, Blaine and I will return to Heber City, where we are currently staying.

Blaine's Dad has agreed to stay with the kids in Heber while Blaine and I are in Salt Lake. From today on, Blaine requires a 24-7 caregiver. That's mostly me, and family will take part, I am sure. He will not be able to be around crowds, will have to limit contact with people, and cannot be around anyone with a cough, cold, or any other contagion. The kids and I are getting flu shots on Monday, perhaps this afternoon if there is time. In December, the whole process will be repeated, and after the 2nd transplant, he will have maintenance therapy for at least a year.

All of this is why we are here, and though intense, we are relieved to get it underway. We had a very frank discussion with the doctor, and this is absolutely what he needs. It is literally a matter of life and death that he receive this treatment, so we are grateful that it is here. These guys have done this many times. Dr. Tricot has treated over 5,000 MM patients over 20 years. It is all he does, and he is the best in his field. We continue to be grateful for DHMC/Norris Cotton Cancer Center and the good people there, and extremely grateful for Huntsman and the specialists here. Dr. Tricot has seen life extended 10 years and more, and has a confidence we have not seen in prior oncologists. We have confidence, and Blaine is again, very strong. We wait upon the Lord, and know this is the answer to our prayers, and to those of many others who suffer from Multiple Myeloma.

To Liz, God Bless you! Thank you so much for the MM walk, and team "Savage Strength." Please tell us more.

To everyone, we don't mean to ignore you! We're just a little busy - crazy busy - totally occupied - fill in the phrase that fits best - you get it! We love you, and will keep this updated. Feel free to email or call, seriously. Don't think you're intruding. If it's a bad time, we won't answer, but we love hearing your voice messages or reading your words. It lifts us up. If we can answer, we will be very happy to do so. And please, someone update us about Brian.

Thanks to all. Hope everyone is well.

Marleigh