December 2024

Well month four after my stem cell replacement therapy has seen me more back to normal.  I saw my spinal cord doctor at Providence Health Care Hospital in Kingston which was positive.  The intern talked with me and my daughter extensively for a good hour and took notes which were relayed to my doctor who did an examination of my nerve responses.  Her conclusion was that regardless of all my ups and downs over the past six months since she did a throughout exam—I am back to where I was six months ago, therefore I have reached my normal in her opinion.  I will stress that that is her opinion as I am still determined to repair my nerve damage to the point where I able to walk to some level.

A week later, I had my monthly appointment with my oncologist who informed me that my multiple myeloma cancer is officially in remission.  My bloodwork for my liver came back indicating that there is no more issues.  We had a discussion about taking lenalidomide as a remission therapy.  I questioned the dosage and he agreed to lower his recommendation from 10mg to 5mg, with the option that I can discontinue at any time or reduce the dosage to 2.5mg which would be the lowest.  I have agreed to take the 5mg dosage for one month and see how it goes.

I have agreed to taking this medication despite all me alternative health practitioners recommendations as none of them are oncologists and none of them are willing to work with me closely and walk with me.  None of them know the correct dosages for alternatives such as Fenbendazole or Ivermectin or any of the many other alternative options.  This is disappointing, but I respect each of them for their inputs and the help and guidance that they have given me to date.  I am therefore on my own to research and nail down my own personal cancer recipe.  Reminding myself that I also have to deal with a spinal cord injury.

On that note, there are a number of things that continue to affect my overall health, which my oncologist says are all related to my spinal cord injury.  My spinal cord injury doctor says they are cancer related—so, once again, I am left on my own to diagnose and treat myself.  I am experiencing severe pain and stiffness in my hands, especially my right hand, with the symptoms being the worst at night, starting in the evenings around 8pm.  I don’t understand these evening and night-time effects on my feet, especially my toes and feet are also worse at night.  My daughter says that I have arthritis.  Perhaps, but my instinct is saying no. I have a toe and a finger that become gnarled at night.  I will have to research and investigate these conditions in more depth.

This has been a great month as far as my exercises go.  I had a visit from a wonderful young lady who teaches yoga.  She gave me a few more exercises to add to my morning routine.  I am back to incorporating weights into my exercises. 

Now that winter is upon us, my dog is staying inside more.  We play fetch and tug-o-war and cuddle, which is all reinforcing the relationship that we had before I went into the hospital.  Since I live on a farm, my dog was forced to stay outside all the time during my stay in the hospital as nobody wanted the bother of her.  She is an Australian Cattle Dog, otherwise known as a Blue Heeler, which is an extremely high energy, high strung, intense and demanding breed.  I understand that she slept underneath my deck while I was away in the hospital most of 2024 (7 out of 9 months).   Every day we are re-establishing our relationship which gives us both a lot of joy.

My son had his one week away from the farm to visit his daughter in the United States.  We all faired okay without him.  I missed the wonderful smoothies that he has been bringing me every morning.  My daughter and my granddaughters kicked in to look after the cows, put wood in the outdoor furnace and shovel snow.

Christmas is coming soon.  Since I cannot drive and get out shopping—I am relying on Amazon.ca which is not a company that I wish to support, but they do have everything that I need and delivery is very fast and no charge, so why would I not use them.  I am crafting a few presents this year to put under the tree.  I am looking forward to 2025 and putting 2024 behind me.

Kathryn