Dad and Mom are so glad to be home. Thanks to all those who are bringing meals; Mom reports that it has been such a relief not to have to worry about dinner every night. Dad has been feeling pretty good for the last few days. Not exactly 100%, of course, but then compared to last time he was home, he feels like a million bucks. He has been to Abington for one transfusion so far, and will return today for another. Blood tests have shown an improvement in his red blood cell count, as well as--wonder of wonders--his platelet count. For the whole time he was in the hospital Dad needed daily, sometimes twice-daily transfusions just to keep his platelet numbers hovering, weakly, in the 20s (i.e. twenty-some thousand per tiny unit of blood). Two days ago it was 60, and while "normal" would be between 150 and 400, this represents a significant improvement for Dad, especially since for a while there his body was unable to maintain even those lower levels on its own. Thank the Lord: this is a specific answer to specific prayer.

Please continue to pray that these numbers would climb. An area of concern is Dad's white blood cell count, which had fallen as of that last blood check. Dad is going down to Penn tomorrow to see Dr. Stadtmauer and get a read on his protein levels, which, as many of you know, are a key indicator of the myeloma's activity. They will decide when to begin the next round of chemo. Stadtmauer will be away until the beginning of April, so Dad will be "off" at least until then.

Thanks for checking in. We'll keep you updated. I'm even going to try to get the Aged P's up on this thing (provided they have the energy), so stay tuned.