Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Long overdue PCR update

For a good many different reasons, I have just not had the oomph to write anything on here, not even the latest pcr results.  I think disappointment was the main factor, a touch of being angry, some...... no, a lot of frustration and just general tiredness.

For a while now the pcr had been cruising around the same level, then it did that beautiful downward dip....... and then these latest results.  The latest reading is 0.10% on the International Scale.  And then I looked again at the past results and see that I had been way too complacent....... I misread the April reading - it should be 0.040% IS, not the 0.015% as I had listed.  That was on the old scale....

So when I had thought that there were two jumps downwards towards PCRU, instead there was one lovely jump down and then the little hop upwards again in April......... followed by this jump even further upwards.  I know - it puts Steven at around the same as he was a year ago, but ooooooooooooh, I had such high hopes that he was on his way to that string of solid zero's.

So now we wait again until the next test and see which direction that goes in.  Hopefully it settles down, or even goes down.  Oh I know this is nothing dramatic, probably just a normal bouncing around as these pcr's do and that there are people who are in a much much worse place, but still.  This last result was like a kick in the gut and I battled to process it in a reasonable way.  I didn't go nuts, didn't bite my nails but this time that jump got me on a level that just made me tired, made me really quiet on a deeper level than for a long time.  Strange.

Maybe it was also a combination of remembering two very special young men.  Nick left this world just over a year ago now......  He was a beautiful young man about Steven's age, just starting out in life.  And Adrian, also around Steven's age - two years already!  It hardly seems possible and it is definitely not fair - not in either of these cases or the many many others that this happens to.  Both these young men and their moms had such a positive influence on my life and still do in so many ways..

Sometimes I get really scared...... yes, we can say that we are all going to die one day, that some or other mad bus driver will drive over us or someone else we love...... but it is also true that Steven has an extra 'strike' against him..... that he is a tad more vulnerable than the average Joe with just the bus driver to worry about.... and this scares me into a less bright place sometimes.  I know that I am so fortunate to still have Steven here and that, even with this pcr jump, he is in a good place with his cml.... so how can I worry still? Why?

Love and light
Annie

2 comments:

Tough Cookie Mommy said...

Dear Annie,
Unfortunately, the worrying never goes away, in my opinion. I have measured PCRU for about the last two years and I had at least two PCRs that showed a slight bounce up that scared me half to death. It was just reading a slight number both times that came back at zero upon retesting but it scared me nonetheless. I explain the worrying to others in this way, I am driving a car with Gleevec in the passenger seat but CML is still sitting in the backseat and I can see it if I look over my shoulder. I know exactly how you feel, my dear friend. Feel free to email me privately to talk some more. You know how to reach me.

Big hugs,

Maria

hockeychic said...

Oh Annie - that must be so scary. I think Maria put it very well with the image of driving with CML in the backseat. And now the waiting for the next test results, it can't be easy.

I too have been thinking of Nick and Adrian so much. How can Adrian be gone two years already and Nick one? It just doesn't seem possible.

Sending you lots and lots of hugs.