Dude, where are my plasma cells?
Q&A's
How
did Gerry get MM?
We don't know. Usually it strikes folks over 60, it's not common in younger people.
But MM been linked to exposure to Benzene, and we lived near enough to the WTC - Gerry worked in Manhattan - that he might have been affected by the burnoff after 9/11. Who knows?
What's the prognosis for MM?
As with just about any disease, it depends on the person affected and the aggressiveness of the disease.
In most cases, if a Blood Marrow Transplant is indicated, it extends life expectancy by 1-5 years. At that point a second BMT may be performed, but the life extension isn't expected to be as long.
How's Gerry doing now?
It's
been almost 10 months since Gerry's Stem Cell Transplant at the Mayo.
He's doing beautifully, better than expected and as well as anyone who
has received a stem cell transplant.
Although it hurts to walk for any distance without a walker, he's actually RIDING his BIKE with the kids, and is being as active as he can be. He's been volunteering a bit, resting a lot, and holding down the fort when I travel to teach.
Your continued good thoughts mean so much to us!
Although it hurts to walk for any distance without a walker, he's actually RIDING his BIKE with the kids, and is being as active as he can be. He's been volunteering a bit, resting a lot, and holding down the fort when I travel to teach.
Your continued good thoughts mean so much to us!
What IS MM?
Here's a good explanation of this disease.
Basically it's a blood cancer that affects plasma cells in the bone marrow creating many small tumors that push themselves out of the bone (creating small holes called "punchouts")
It's painful, and causes bone disintegration and calcium in the blood.
At the Split Rock Lighthouse in MN, June '07
We were going to make a knitting video, I would travel the country, teaching knitting and lecturing. At least, that was the plan.
However, during our move it became clear that Gerry's annoying 'bad back' was significantly more serious than we'd originally thought.
We discovered he had crushed vertibrae due to osteoporosis, a sign of Multiple Myeloma. This is a blood cancer that manifests itself in the bone marrow and is quite painful.
Gerry had a stem cell transplant at the Mayo Clinic in September 2007, it went very well and we're tremendously grateful to the entire staff there.
We hadn't planned on this - who would? - and dealing with such a serious illness in a new place with no extended family is difficult.
We moved to Minnesota in Feb 2007. I was going to devote more of myself to my hand knit designing and my husband, Gerry (formerly a television producer,) was going to be "Mr. Mom."
In September my book – Knit with Courage, Live with Hope – the story of our family's Multiple Myeloma adventure – will be available
Download it for free, and think about making a donation to the International Myeloma Foundation!
Gown Length |
When a friend
told me she'd
be attending the Emmy's, I asked if I could create a dress
for her to wear. She was
gracious enough to agree - and her husband
won his Emmy
(of course!) Originally this was designed as a hand knit evening gown, but you can make it any length you want. |
| Stop at Corset Length (at the hip), at Mini Length (mid-thigh), at Tea Length (mid-calf) or to the floor - gown length. It's your choice! The center front can be worn as knit, or pull it down and gather it to create a deep cleveage look. | |
| Convert
it as
you like! Everyone looks HOT in a Convertible! |
 Corset Length |
Our family's goal is to make every day as full of life and meaning as possible, retain our hope while facing the devastating prognosis we've been given by U of MN and the Mayo Clinic.
There's a lot of hope out there - a lot of folks are doing well with this diagnosis.
I am our breadwinner now - and what I do best is design & teach knitting. I'm curtailing much of my teaching activity to spend more time with Gerry.