Dr. Barlogie told us that Tanner is in FULL REMISSION!!

When Dr. Barlogie first came in the room, he asked Tanner if he was ready to go home and he told him yes, and then the doctor looked at the latest lab report in file and the number's were still really low. He told Tanner there was no way we could go home yet and that maybe we could go later in the week.

Tanner told him has back had been spasming all the night before and all day and to look in the computer for today's results because he thought his numbers might have come up (when his back was spasming on our last trip, a nurse told him it was because his white blood count was coming up). The doctor looked at today's results and his white blood count was 2.02 and his platelets were 48 (they have to be a 50 to go home). In one night his labwork rose all the way up to just one point from being able to be dismissed!!

He's in considerable pain from the back spasms, but it seems to be a sure indicator for when his white blood count is rising.

They could actually dismiss him tomorrow and take his lines out but Dr. B wants Tanner to have a new test to check his bone density and they can't do it until tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. Then, he has to go back for his dismissal appointment and Dr. Naier (Dr. Barlogie is out of town the rest of the week doing a presentation) can't see him until Thursday. That appointment is at 11:30 a.m. and then they will have to send him to the hospital to get his lines out, so at the very earliest, it would be late Thursday afternoon before we can head home.

Dr. Barlogie told us that we need to come back in mid-January for "re-staging". I asked what that was and they told us he will have to go through all the tests again and they will determine where exactly he's at before they put him on a maintenance program.

At this point, if nothing significant changes, he should be through with chemo and can just move on to a maintenance program!! The nurse told us that even if, for some reason, Dr. B decides he has to have another consolidation chemo, it shouldn't be something that can't be worked around Tanner's schedule. They don't foresee any emergencies arising. Everything with Tanner's multiple myeloma has progressed the way it should and now we'll see if his broken bone will heal with some time off of the chemo.

Dr. Barlogie seemed very surprised to hear that Tanner's broken tibia isn't healing and asked me if Dr. Nicholas' told me what his thoughts were on why it hasn't healed. I told him Dr. Nicholas said he didn't really know why. Dr. B seemed to think it's because Tanner has been going through so much chemo so I'm just trusting that with some time without all these poisons being pumped into his body, maybe his bone will start to actually heal on it's own without surgery.

They were supposed to change his cast this morning but the man who was scheduled to swap them was out sick. They want us to come over tomorrow morning after his labwork and said they would do it then. I asked what if David is still sick, and they said if he was still out ill, then someone else would go ahead and change the cast for him. They explained to us that if Dr. Nicholas requests someone in particular, then he's very insistent that specific person actually be the one who performs the procedure.

Today is my Aunt Tincey's birthday so we all met at Olive Garden for dinner tonight. Tanner wanted to celebrate her birthday, the fact that he's in remission, and that he can now go back out in public again!

It was a great time. Having an opportunity to spend time with Aunt Tincey, Julie, Alston, and Trinity has been one of the of blessings that we've received from spending time in Little Rock.