it has been a while

Thought I would do a little catch up.

Thanksgiving time in 2009 I was just finishing my chemo treatments that I started i july. I got some good news, I was in partial remission and my counts were good enough to start planning for a stem cell transplant. My Kidneys had also bounced back enough that I reduced my dialysis to 2 days per week.

What a difference a year makes. Today,all my blood tests are normal and my kidneys are working well.

As we celebrated Thanksgiving I reflected on all that is was thankful for. Family and friends who prayed for me, The Drs and Nurses at Puget Sound Cancer Center, The research being done at "the Hutch", The awesome medical team at SCCA and UW.

I could go on a while, but most of all I thank God for the second chance at life.

Each day I get stronger, even though I deal with the side effects from the drugs. I have a very expensive maintenance drug that I will take for many years to come, but it is better then the alternative.

Finally, I am so lucky to have Chrystal, who has stood by my side and taken care of me all this time. I know I can be a pain, so she must really love me.

I hope all of you have time to be thankful.

first haircut

It seems like it was so long ago, but it hasn't even been 6 months since my stem cell transplant. Sometimes I feel like the last year has been a big dream, then I go off to my next dr appointment and realize it is real. Yesterday, I had a milestone day. I went to the barber for the first time in over a year. You see when I got cancer I quit getting hair cuts knowing that one day the drugs would cause my hair to fall out and indeed it did in March of this year. The hair cut made me feel like we really were kicking butt. Even though I continue to take maintenance meds, there are still now signs of cancer and I have hair.

I also wondered what it was like when I went to the barber the first time as a little kid, which caused me to start thinking of Dr Suess. Weird huh! Anyway if you start hearing me spout Suess quotes blame the haircut.

Healing is going well and I am feeling great. My loving wife and caregiver Chrystal is getting some relief from my demands, but she still loves me and watches me to be sure I don't try to sneak anything by her or the Dr.

“I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!" Dr Suess

Complete Remission

June 12 was 90 days post transplant and the good news continues. 2 weeks ago I had my follow up bone marrow biopsy and today I got the results. no measurable signs of myeloma in my bone marrow and my blood tests are normal. The Doc's words were "COMPLETE REMISSION". Those are the sweetest words I have heard in a year. now we keep praying that it stays that way. Thank you all for your support and prayers over this last year. It ain't over yet but I know the Good Lord has his hands on me and the Dr's so I am feeling pretty darn good about now.

I almost forgot, my hair is coming back. color still in questions.

Dr Follow Up

Had my follow up appointment with the kidney Dr on Monday and he said see ya in 3 months! Creatinine is 2.3 and kidneys are working. my BP was a a little higher than the Dr liked so i am back on meds to keep it low.

No the really big news! My first post transplant blood work came back with everything in the normal range, including the Kappa and Lambda light chains! That means no cancer in my blood!

Sometime in June I will get a follow up bone marrow biopsy to see where things are in my bone marrow. We are winning the fight!

I returned to the office this week and did really well. still get a little tired in the afternoon, but even old guys with no cancer need a nap. I continue to get stronger with time.

Mothers Day is Sunday and it will be special! Although my mom is out of town and missed, Chrystal and I will see our girls and grandchildren, including new grandson Gunner. My mom's love has a lot to do with my strength and for that I thank her. Chrystal is a great and loving mom to our three kids and she still has time to care for me. That is pretty darn special.

God bless you all and thanks for your on going thoughts and prayers.

mike

ps. in case you didn't see the Everett Herald, here is a story they did about my return to work.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100506/NEWS01/705069853&news01ad=1#Cooper.back.still.battling

time to catch up

It has been a busy couple weeks, so we have some catching up to do. things have gone remarkably well. I got my hickman out, I am no longer on IV fluid, and my appetite has returned to normal. On April 19th day 37 I was "discharged" from the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance" system and returned to my home Dr for follow up. My blood counts are very good and I am getting stronger every day. The SCCA folks are the best and the treatment is cutting edge. I feel blessed that I live in a place where so many advances are being made.

In the middle of all the excitement of finishing up at SCCA our daughter Rebecca gave birth on April 15th to Gunner Thor Chrisofferson an 8lb 2oz bundle of joy. He was born with more hair then me.

I took a few hours and went to the office so I could attend a hearing and vote on an important set of land use decisions. It was challenging to my strength and while i was tired after, I felt energized and healthy. I was a little tricky avoiding contact with the crowd in the lobby and hearing room, but that is what back doors and stairs are for. My plan is to start keeping limited hours the first week of May.

Yesterday I saw Dr Rosenshein for the first time since Jan and he was encouraged by how well I was feeling. Next week I see the kidney Dr for follow up. I can't wait for him to see how my kidneys have healed. My creatinine is down to 2! That's about 40% function. I thank God for healing my Kidneys. I have been off dialysis since feb.

I look forward to seeing all of you from time to time. Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers.

Day 28

today is day 28. Yesterday my appointments went well. I am off IV fluid as long as I can maintain 87 oz of fluid a day on my own. That is a lot of pee! the reason so much fluid is to flush the toxic meds and to make sure my kidneys are clear. I am hear to tell all that fluid is ""flushing" fine and the kidneys just keep getting better.

If all goes well next week, I will be discharged back to my dr at home for follow up o the 19th. My appetite needs to continue to improve and we need to have the nausea under control. those things are happening.

I am hoping to be back in my office first week of May, at least part time. I can't wait to be back in the grind. I don't worry much about over work, because between Chrystal at home and Kimberly at the office I have a conspiracy against me.

Anyway, I am feeling good,, time to get out and about. the Dr warned that when deciding what to do and where to go to think of my immune system as one of an infant. go and do what you would with a newborn. lots of germs out there, so i got to be careful. if ya see me, virtual hand shakes work.

resting and healing

My days since coming home from the hospital have been spent resting and healing. I did have one minor set back and had to go to the UW for a few hours of fluid and antibiotics because my fever got too high, but all is well.

My focus is getting my food intake back up where it belongs and getting off of IV fluid. the food issue is tough because I still deal with nausea and my tummy doesn't always like what I put in it, but we are getting there. I am down to 1/2 liter a day of iv fluid and am hoping to be off that by next week.

Yes I can have visitors,as long as you don't have a runny nose, cough or fever. My biggest risk is infection and that will come from the germ filled world we live in.

thank you all again for your prayers and support. It means a lot too us.