6-Month Eval: Part III

Compared to yesterday, today was a slow day over at BUSM. I started off with an echocardiogram, then shuffled off for some lunch. While waiting for a consult with one of the amyloid doctors, my stepmother and I attended a small amyloidosis support group meeting, in which we met (and re-met) some of the other patients.

One of the benefits of having a rare disease is that the doctors and nurses don't see the volume of patients, and tend to remember you. It's nice to have all of the nurses greet you by name, even though you haven't seen them for months.

I really don't know what the purpose of the doctor consult was this afternoon, as most of the major tests (such as the light-chain and bone marrow biopsy) have not come in yet. I only found out the following:

• My kidneys may not be getting better, but they are not getting worse.
• My heart is (still) not affected by the amyloid.
• My triglyceride count is now under 1,000, but there is still work to be done. There is also a good chance it may disrupt the light-chain tests again.

We won't hear about the final results of the tests until Friday. Although the test results we have now are still inconclusive, they are preparing me for the possibility of a second stem-cell transplant. I really can't comment and reflect until I get the results on Friday. And then we will take it from there.