3rd German Update

Below is a photo of the view off our room. After the first night in Duderstadt, we woke to a tile saw directly below us. When we stopped by the front desk on our way to the clinic for leukepheresis, we asked how long the construction would last and the sweet woman surprised us when we got back from the appointment with an upgraded room - a suite. Green and I have been treated so well, upgrades at every turn. We've decided it's because we're really giggly, and smiley, grateful and happy :)

I have another hyperthermia and oxygen treatment at 1:00 pm today, directly followed by another Newcastle disease virus shot. There will three of those all together, then a shot with the Newcastle disease virus primed with my dendritic cells. The Newcastle disease virus only attaches to neoplastic (tumor) cells. Your body recognizes the NDV on the coating (and sometimes inside the tumor cells) and your body cleans them up. The whole process is very interesting.

Most people get flu like symptoms from the shots, but so far I haven't had a fever - which would be ideal. That would mean that the tumor cells were becoming infected. I think that because my brain surgery was so recent, and my tumor burden is so low, the quantity of tumor cells in my body is very small so although they could still be getting infected they might not effect me very dramatically. That's my take on it anyway :) those poor little stragglers from the surgery are scrambling to live in my brain and they're running out of places to hide :)

I should be asleep right now, Green's sleeping as it's only 6 am. I've been up for an hour. I've been sleeping in the afternoons, waking and reading my book for an hour or two, then falling asleep, usually waking between 1:00 am and 5 am. I sleep as much as I can, but it's impossible to get on a schedule, I'm too jet lagged. I have a weird thing that if I get too tired I pass the point of no return. It takes several hours to get back on track, sometimes up to a whole day, it's awful. The good thing is that the treatments wear me out. After the leukepheresis I got 20 hours of sleep. After the first hyperthermia it was 3 + 13 hours. These treatments are exhausting on the body.

It's Monday morning at 6:06 am. I have my appointments today, then tomorrow at 4:00 pm hyperthermia with oxygen and a NDV shot. I have Wednesday off, then Thursday I have another hyperthermia with oxygen and my first NDV shot primed with dendritic cells. Green and I will then head in a taxi to Gottengen for the night. We will take the train the next day and stay at a Frankfort airport hotel. We fly out late morning on Saturday. It's going to be a big week.

Tomorrow is Green's 32nd birthday!! She is such an amazing friend to share it with me :) The Germans have a daily tradition of coffee and cake in the afternoons - even the retail shops close. We've been meaning to partake, I think it's time! :)