Along for the Ride

This morning I was able to meet with my nephrologist for another follow-up visit. We are currently 2 1/2 months into treatment, so the meds are finally starting to work. While my kidney function has definitely dropped over the last couple of months, going from about 40% function in January to about 15-20% function currently, things look like they have stabilized for the time being. My creatinine levels were the same today as they were two weeks ago, so that's great news! My white blood cell counts have also come up a bit, which is good because it allows us to be a little more aggressive with the oral chemotherapy medications. The standard treatment for Wegener's has 2 parts - steroids and oral chemo. The steroids offer a more acute solution, acting quickly to stop the progression of the damage. The chemo works more slowly to assist in reaching remission. If the chemo meds can be increased, and my body can tolerate the medicine, then the steroids should be able to be r...

In recent years, I've been developing a more "wholistic" view of life. I've seen an interconnectedness in life and nature that I don't think I realized existed before. In my explorations with relgion and spirituality, I found a connection between body, mind, and spirit, that I think can be very powerful. Now that I'm dealing with this new challenge - the whole "being sick" thing - I find that the connection between those seemingly different aspects of my being are even more important. The thing that is tricky is that this illness is autoimmune. So, by definition, my body is attacking itself. It's a strange concept. Here I am, attempting to do right by my body - ingest whole and organic foods, quiet and still my mind, meditate and center my soul - all in an attempt to get my body to love itself again. When you get a cold or a virus, it's realatively easy to imagine this vile "intruder" in your body. I've known cancer sur...