Yesterday I had an appointment with Dr. Oran. She did not believe me when I told her that, except for my eyes being dry and bothersome and the sores in my mouth, I have been feeling pretty well. She asked IRael If he thought I was doing as well as I said I was, since I'm "not a complainer."

I learned that the last CT scan I had in January was completely clear. There were no signs of infection, both bacterial and fungal. I am meeting with Dr. Young 02 March to get her opinion on whether or not I can get off my IV caspofungin (and get my PICC line removed). I asked Dr. O how sue felt about stopping caspo and removing my line. Because of my history I need to remain on an antifungal indefinitely. I used to be on VFEND, an oral antifungal, but while I was on it I contracted several microorganisms, so it appears to have a limited effectiveness for me. So it seems unlikely that I would be put back on VFEND when caspo is responsible for successfully clearing my infections. Which means I wouldn't be getting rid of my line anytime soon.

That's Dr. O's take on the situation, but she will defer any decisions to Dr. Young, the infectious disease expert. I'm not really expecting her to say anything different. But we'll see. Dr. O said there is another class of oral antifungals, different from VFEND, that I haven't tried yet, so that might be an option.

I've been getting around alright, although I've been having more pain than before. When I go from a seated position to standing I have an incredible pain in my hip. I dint know if it's part of the healing process, or if something is wrong, or if maybe I'm becoming tolerant to my pain medications. I'll see if it improves in the next few days, otherwise I need to contact my physical therapist and ask what she thinks about it.

Since I'm doing well enough I won't be seeing Dr. O for two weeks. That same week I will be seeing my surgeon and having X-rays of my hip taken. I also have my one-year anniversary labs and bone marrow biopsy. Man am I not looking forward to that.