Inter view with John

Hi you all.  Sorry I haven't written in awhile.  I didn't mean to worry anybody.  I guess I have gone through a little time of getting my bearings.  I am doing much better now though.  I still go through a lot, but am coming into being okay.  I will do what I have to do to be okay. 

Below is an interview I did with John, so you all would know how he is doing.  He preferred to do it this way, as it is easier for him than to write something.  So here we go.

Krissy:  How did you feel when you found out the bone marrow cancer is back? 

John:  Uhmmm... I am doing alright.  I am not upset about the MDS coming back.  I'm disappointed.  I'm a little frustrated.  When I first got the news my reaction was mostly surprise because Dr. Claxton had told me it had a 10% chance of coming back in my lifetime, and then like a month later it is back.  So... uhmm... I think I am taking it pretty well.  I am not depressed, or anxious, or even worrying much about it.

It's like "John gets a Bone Marrow Transplant Part 2".  Only this time I have to worry about my kidneys.

Krissy:  Explain that please.

John:  Well, while recovering from this last bone marrow transplant, the one immunosuppressant drug damaged my kidneys so they shut down completely and I had to go on dialysis for two weeks.  Then the kidneys came back and now function at 20%.  Whatever happens this time I have to make sure they don't dame my kidneys, because I don't want to be on lifetime dialysis.  Things that could hurt my kidneys are chemo, medications... and I don't know what else.  I need to talk to my nephrologist about it. 

Krissy:  So here is a deeper question for you.  What inspires you to go on, John?  I was inspired by your answer to the first question.

John:  I feel like I have no other choice but to go on.  The... uhmm... only other option is to give up and die.  And uhmmm, I think I am just too stubborn to quit!  I have had people tell me my stubbornness is a fault, but there have been many times in my life that it has served me quit well.  And I think having cancer has been one of those times.  There have been times with cancer, and the complications, especially the complications, where it seemed to me like I was up against so much that I might not survive.  But uhmm... my stubborness was the only thing that got me through.

And Krissy's support, because she was always there.  And always standing there bye me.  That counted for a lot.

Krissy:   Thanks John for sharing today.  Can I interview you again in the future?

John:  Sure you can.

Tags: interview, bone marrow transplant, stem cell transplant, bone marrow cncer, MDS, Myelodysplasia, Myelodysplastic Syndrome, kidney failure