I got the results from my CT scan. My GI tract has healed; I could have told you this because my bowel movements have been nice and solid recently. Unfortunately, the CT scan also revealed that my spleen is growing again. This could be a sign that the leukemia is coming back, so the doctor decided to do yet another bone marrow biopsy. Unfortunately, the doctor either didn't care how or didn't know how to make the bone marrow biopsy as painless as possible; it really seemed like he wasn't even trying. It was hands down the most painful thing I've ever experienced, though gout still reigns supreme as being the most painful for the longest amount of time.
In any case, depending on the bone marrow biopsy, I'm not sure what's going to happen. The doctor said that there's a chance they might remove my spleen. Apparently the spleen acts as a sponge for blood cells, so my enlarged spleen is part of the explanation for why I've been needing platelets and white blood cells recently. Removing the spleen would help with this, and I guess the liver will pick up the slack, according to the doctor. Still, I hesitate when the doctor suggests removing an organ; it sounds like such a permanent solution to what could be a temporary problem.
Naturally, Mom and Dad are freaking out about this. What's worse, they're telling other people. They don't understand that it's not unusual for leukemia patients to have their spleens removed, so they think this is much more serious than it is, and they've convinced everyone else that that's the case too. That brings us to the party. I got to see most of my family on Saturday at a huge pre-wedding party for my brother Bobby and his fiancé Hillary. Everyone expressed that they were concerned for me and that they were praying for me. Most of the family started out by saying that they heard that I got some bad news recently. I had to repeat about twenty times that things were going well and that it really was just some routine tests.
And really, things are going very well. I feel great. I went in to work three of the five days this past week since I was at the hospital the other two days. I got myself organized, including upgrading to Ubuntu 10.4 on my work, home, and laptop computers -- I have to say that I am quite pleased with it, though they need to fix some of the bugs with Gwibber. I started working on my proposal document, and I have about 8 pages there so far, though a good chunk of that is basically lifted from the Persona paper and needs to be condensed. All in all, I feel great, I'm being productive, and I'm happy. I don't think I could ask for more than that.
Oh, and even better news: because my GI tract is good now and because there's the concern that the leukemia could be coming back, the doctor dropped my steroid dosage drastically and continuously. I'm nearly off the steroids at this point, and today is the first day in a long time that I've actually eaten roughly like a normal person. I'm still a little hungry, but for a change I don't feel that I need to eat. As far as I'm concerned, that's victory.
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