Dear family and friends,
It’s time that I bring you up to date on my personal situation. The week before last, my blood values were analyzed and discussed with the oncologist at the Winterthur Cantonal Hospital on October 8. My HB value has risen further, and the other blood values are almost all in the normal range. I was therefore able to greatly reduce the number of pills I must take every day!
A few days ago I took a walk around Rafz; I took this picture of the “Mülihof” farm and vineyard (the name means “Mill’s farm”).
And so, I really do feel physically better again than I have since the onset of the disease; I no longer know such days when I felt weak and exhausted. Only when I do too much or sit too long do I feel the strain in my back, where the damaged vertebrae are, but I manage without painkillers. We are grateful from the bottom of our hearts! The disease has become a little smaller, but it has not disappeared. In the meantime, I had a very itchy rash on my chest, back and head, which, according to dermatological examination, was probably caused by a late allergic reaction to the chemotherapy. The rash has more or less disappeared by itself, but not yet completely.
This also means that we have a certain mobility again; as already reported, we were able to see and also support our children and grandchildren in Heidelberg. This week our youngest daughter and her family are in our house in Tiengen; there we can meet them and spend time with them. And we can regularly participate actively in the events of our Christian community.
Where do we go from here? On Thursday, November 25, another bone marrow aspiration is planned in Winterthur to analyze the myeloma in detail. On Monday, November 29, I will go back to the University Hospital in Zurich for the second round of high-dose chemotherapy followed by stem cell retransfusion. The first time I was hospitalized for 16 days; I hope that the second time it will be shorter or at least not longer, so that by the end of the year this phase may be completed, so to speak.
After that I will have to catch up on all the typical vaccinations one gets as a child and later as an adult. To keep the disease in check, a regular maintenance chemotherapy is planned. However, the details will depend on the results after the hospital stay at the USZ.
This is the situation – and if you continue to pray for us and the success of the planned appointments and treatments, we will be very grateful!
Best regards
Andreas