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Post by bluefish on Mar 5, 2024 7:56:11 GMT -8
Thought I'd give an update on my health battles as I sit looking over a pine and spruce forest from my room at Dartmouth Hitchcock in Hanover NH. Im currently receiving a very new treatment for Multiple Myleloma called Bi-specific T Cell engagement. They genetically engineer a protein into an injectable drug that both attaches to healthy T cells in your immune system and your cancer cells. The protein is cytotoxic to the bad lightchains. This type of treatment is the wave of the future. My cancer had spiked and refracted and relapsed past all the drugs I could currently take. This treatment is , so far, been miraculous. It's been months and months of battling, and numerous life impediments that have made my stress level off the charts. Just for a sample: I was due for a stem cell transplant on 12/18, however my wife and I were given Covid by a hospital employee coughing on us the week before the transplant. Due to Covid, I was cancelled 4 days before, and my cancer spiked and I was removed from eligibility, even though I went through hell to get my stem cells collected back in Sept. Lets see, We were coming home from the dacks just before Christmas and someone lost a large white pine off their vehicle and it took out the front of our Prius, destroying the grill and all the coolers, fans and radiators. I had it towed home and I tore it apart and fixed it, but it took a bit to get the parts. My wife got sepsis on Thanksgiving and went in the hospital for 5 days. They never diagnosed the cause. Numerous other things have happened, too many to mention, but perhaps the coup de gras was on New Years day. We bikepacked into the wilderness in Vt. for NY's eve and had an incredible night camped near a gorgeous trout stream on the backside of a mountain the AT goes over. In the morning at 8:30 we were 7 miles from our truck on an ice rutted gravel forest road when my wife caught the edge of a rut, went down breaking her hip and shoulder. No cell service, I employed every mtb skill I've ever acquired, biked out after ascertaining she had sustained no head injuries and no protruding bones or ruptures with internal bleeding. I did dirt track racer back with the truck and loaded her in and drove her to the nearest hospital 40 miles away. It worked out very, very, well as she got a full hip replacement by 5:30 . The shoulder is still healing and it will be several more months until its healed. She did get an embolism in her lung from the hip surgery, but I got her to an emergency clinic and by ambulance to the hospital quickly and they addressed it. We've taken quite a few hikes with my wife as a gingerly stepping one arm with a trekking pole and microspikes if there was the least chance of slipping. I'm all in on getting better, even though prostate cancer still has to be dealt with and some other minor issues. We bought a Copper Spur HV UL2 bikepacking tent in REI in Williston Vt. this past Sat. as a carrot for both of us. I'm currently planning a float plane adventure in May into the last 5,000 acres of old growth forest in Maine to fish for an extremely rare trout, and a trip next fall back into the Gila. I've been knocked down, but I'm back up and swinging HARD. Happy Trails to all, your adventures inspire me.
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Deborah
Trail Wise!
Yes, that's me.
Posts: 1,115
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Post by Deborah on Mar 5, 2024 8:57:57 GMT -8
WOW, that's a great deal to take in. Inspire you? Your spirit and planned adventures will be inspiring everyone here.
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Post by downriver on Mar 5, 2024 9:30:38 GMT -8
Wishing you and your wife the best…! You’re a heckuva fighter and an inspiration. Keep swinging, bluefish…!
Regards,
DR
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Post by hikerchick395 on Mar 5, 2024 9:33:33 GMT -8
Holy Cow! (I thought that we had a lot of medical problems going on here.)
Here's hoping that 2024 is uneventful for you, as far as further issues to deal with. And that the year brings healing to you both.
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Post by Sleeping Bag Man! on Mar 5, 2024 9:49:32 GMT -8
Jumpin Jehoshaphat…I order the universe to give you a friggin break!
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Post by trinity on Mar 5, 2024 11:29:56 GMT -8
Wow. Thank you so much for the update, but I'm really sorry for everything you and your wife are going through. Y'all are an inspiration, indeed. I look forward to reports from Maine and the Gila. Keep on swinging!
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ErnieW
Trail Wise!
I want to backpack
Posts: 9,917
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Post by ErnieW on Mar 5, 2024 11:32:06 GMT -8
This treatment is , so far, been miraculous. Sorry for all your other woes but this seems like good news. F cancer.
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reuben
Trail Wise!
Gonna need more Camels at the next refugio...
Posts: 11,154
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Post by reuben on Mar 5, 2024 12:16:33 GMT -8
Goodness groceries, y'all are tough!!!
I'm very happy to hear the positive news interspersed in there.
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gabby
Trail Wise!
Posts: 4,539
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Post by gabby on Mar 5, 2024 12:31:20 GMT -8
That’s quite a story!
Another person wishing you the best of luck with all of these problems, and repeating that old Buddhist proverb:
“Trouble is just an adventure taken the wrong way, An adventure is just trouble taken the right way.“
“We bought a Copper Spur HV UL2 bikepacking tent in REI in Williston Vt. this past Sat. as a carrot for both of us“ And a carrot is exactly what it is:
the perfect color to be found when another adventure comes around
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Travis
Trail Wise!
WYOMING NATIVE
Posts: 2,584
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Post by Travis on Mar 5, 2024 15:06:55 GMT -8
Thanks. I needed to hear that!
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Post by marmotstew on Mar 5, 2024 16:13:01 GMT -8
Yikes sorry to hear about all that misfortune. Wish you luck in catching those rare trout, what kind are they?
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Post by bluefish on Mar 5, 2024 17:10:02 GMT -8
Yikes sorry to hear about all that misfortune. Wish you luck in catching those rare trout, what kind are they? They are arctic char, which are only found in a few ponds south of Canada. They call them bluebacks in Maine. They almost went extinct with the introduction and proliferation of invasive rainbow smelt.
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rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
Posts: 12,683
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Post by rebeccad on Mar 5, 2024 20:07:00 GMT -8
Wow, that’s way more trouble than anyone should have. But I am Very glad to hear the new drugs are working well. Very good news indeed.
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driftwoody
Trail Wise!
Take the path closer to the edge, especially if less traveled
Posts: 14,994
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Post by driftwoody on Mar 6, 2024 2:48:40 GMT -8
Toughness, determination, resilience, and the spirit to enjoy life despite travails that would put others down fo the count -- thy name is bluefish.
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Post by bluefish on Mar 6, 2024 2:59:34 GMT -8
Thanks for all the good wishes! My life has either emulated Job, Sisyphus, or Wile E. Coyote, but I think I may be coming out the other side. All for a purpose, Gabby's Buddhist proverb is something I actually try to live by. Using mindfulness to overcome obstacles and being open to learning experience is invaluable. Oddly, my wife and I are not regretful of our New Y's mishap in the least. It was spectacularly beautiful and fun until the accident, and may have the silver lining that all the arthritis in her hip was removed by the extremely competent surgeon.
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