Oops... Small Mistake...

Hello Hello!

So does everyone remember the "growing clot" I had in my chest?
Because of that little stinker, I've been taking blood thinners for the past three weeks.

Well, last week my doctor wanted to do an echocardiogram (Ultrasound of the heart) so we could get a clearer picture on the clot and make it easier to track it as time goes on. Well, when they did the echo, they didn't see anything! Nothing at all!!

Hmm...
So now they took my original CT scan (where they thought they saw the growing clot) and brought it to another radiologist. He looks at and determines that there was never a clot to begin with!

So in one corner we have a radiologist saying there is a clot and in the other corner, a radiologist saying there isn't a clot!

Now what?
The tiebreaker is now a TEE. A Transesophageal Echocardiogram. When you get an echo, they place the probe on your chest and move it around. However because the ultrasound has to travel through your chest wall and muscles and all that, you can only get a certain level of clarity... which is usually enough.

In a TEE, they actually place the probe down your throat and look at your heart from the opposite direction. This provides them a clearer picture of certain areas of the heart.


A cardiologist performed the TEE yesterday. I was put under anesthesia, so I didn't feel a thing.
The procedure took about 30 minutes and when we were all done...

drum roll please...

NO CLOT!
There was nothing there! Everything looked normal and I am able to stop taking the blood thinners! Thank God!!!

So I guess an "Oops" is in order for that original radiologist. But really, it's better to be safe then sorry. What if the second guy was wrong? So now we can be sure I am clot free and continue the road to recovery...


Sneak Preview...
T-Cell Count next week, I should have results by the 7th!

Quick Hello

Nothing new to report... just saying hello!
I'm doing great and keeping busy.

We won't check my T-Cells again until the beginning of August... so until then I just keep truckin' along.

I setup a page dedicated to my past and future Christmas light displays.

Have a look!
http://christmas.romanelliupdate.com

Fruits of my labor...

So as I mentioned in a previous post, I've been toiling away at a personal project of mine.
Behold Unity Messaging:

http://www.unity-messaging.com
My fully hosted, complete messaging service!

I offer the ability for any type of organization large or small, (business, non-profit, church, school etc) to send E-Mail, Text Messages, and Phone Calls to all their users.

It's the perfect way to get out a message for whatever the case may be. Important Homeowners Association meeting coming up? Perhaps the time to the little league baseball game has been changed! Use Unity to let everyone know! E-Mail, Text Messages, and Phone... it has it all covered!

I'm really proud of it and was great way to not only keep me busy, but also keep all my skills sharp, as I still won't be starting work for a few months.

Anybody you know might be interested? Feel free to let them know!

Take care,
Nick

If It's Not One Thing...

...It's another!

Tuesday was quite the long day for me. I was at Sloan by 7 AM. I had my CT scans and my PET Scan. After those were all finished i had to get my IVIG (Passive Immune System.) It was a very busy day. I finally left the city at round 5 o'clock and it only took me a glorious 2 HOURS to get home!! Ohhh how much I love the LIE.

Luckily I was at Sloan long enough for them to give me all my test results the same day! Still no more cancer! Everything is great!!

Except we have a new little problem...

If you remember, since I started treatment I had a mediport put in my chest. Essentially, it's a central line. When they took it out to put in a temporary triple line for my bone marrow transplant, they noticed that the vein it was in was all clotted up... this happens from having a line in for an extended period of time... no big deal.

However, on this latest round of scans they noticed that the clotting grew.
Medical term: Thrombosis
There could be two reasons for this: 1. Once the clot forms, it's easy for the clot to grow, and may just be a one time thing, or 2. I have a genetic defect which causes clotting.

They took some blood to run the genetic tests, but those won't be back for two weeks. In either case, I've been put on blood thinners and that will do the trick. However, if it is one of those genetic defects, I might have to be on the blood thinners for quite a while. It's one shot twice a day... no big deal.

But all in all, no cancer is the most important thing!

I Should Play Lotto!

So It's 98 days post transplant and I get a call from the doctor.
They took my T Cell count on Tuesday, and the results are back.

So how many do you think we got? 60 days ago, it was at 0. How many could we possibly get.
Well guess what... we got 98!!!! WOOT!!! Not Too Shabby!

I need at least 200 for the doctors to start lifting the quarantine, and those could come as early as the end of this month, but even if it's the end of August... we're in great shape!

So 98 T-Cells at 98 days post transplant... Today's July 3rd...
7 3 9 8 - Win 4

I'm playing lotto tomorrow... Hey! Ya never know :-)