Hip-Wives

 Lambda Free Light Chains We got some really good news over the weekend on last week's recent blood test. What I've put into the headline above are results on a key indicator (Lambda Free Light Chains) of how active the cancer is in my marrow and blood. The first was initial test by the hematologist in April. Normal tops out at 26. Bigger numbers indicate likely myeloma. It took 3 months of chemo to go from 734 to 83. Then I had a chemo-free period of about 3 weeks, jumped back up to 437. Now, just 3 weeks into new treatment and I'm already down to 67, nearly in the normal range. Yes, there are still plenty of other wonky things going on in my blood, but I am not exhausted all the time and my anemia is getting better. But, enough details. I'm still tracking for early December stem cell transplant. Today, Kristin asked me what I wanted to do with myself for the next 6 weeks. Here's what I've come up with. To be known by anyone interested in knowing me. To know an

  photo credit - Otto Norin  - unsplash.com Welcome to HIP WIVES, a blog from Kristin and Leila, partners for twenty years and living in Louisville, Kentucky. You probably already know this, but no, we aren't hip. But this current chapter of life began with a pain in Leila's hip that didn't respond to physical therapy or tai chi or NSAIDS, etc. It kept getting worse. Before I start way back at the beginning, let me give you an update as of today - October 3, 2022. Today, the big news is retirement, for both Kristin and me. We both left our jobs for at least a year and maybe longer.  This timing was driven by the hip, but it makes sense on so many levels. Well, except the economy, since high inflation and a tumultuous market are not things that one wants to hear when walking away from the job and regular paycheck.  Piling onto utter burnout from workload throughout the pandemic came significant hip pain that would not go away. The MRI showed a pelvic fracture along with stra