We Are Still Hopeful

 Many years have passed since I last wrote on this blog.  It’s not because things haven’t been happening or that we’ve lost hope; we had just been trying to live life without multiple myeloma be our main focus.  There were even days when it wasn’t my first thought in the morning or when I saw Ralph.  Those days felt good.  For the past six years, Ralph was in remission…myeloma was nearly non-detectable.  We knew that would not last and held our breath with every blood test.  In March 2025, Ralph’s myeloma counts started to rise.  On May 1st he started Daratumumab infusion on Fridays and 

Pomalyst….21 days on 7 off. He will be checked, at Hillman, in June to see if it working.  His oncologist is retiring, in June, which is very scary.  We are praying for the next doctor to be just as good if not better🙏🏼

Over those six years, he has had serious bouts with pneumonia, Bronchitis, and Covid due to his weakened immune system from chemo.  In January, 2020 he spent a month in the hospital/rehab recovering and gaining strength from a bout with pneumonia.  

But, great things also happened!  Our first grandchild was born in December 2014…5 1/2 months later, our second.  In Spring of 2017, we added 3 more. Another in 2019 and 2022 completed our family.  We have been blessed to be able to spectate as they competitively swim, play soccer, play flag football, play basketball, and play lacrosse.  We’ve enjoyed family vacations and many weekends around our pool.

Recently, I read that the longest one lived with multiple myeloma has been 31 years.  It’s been 16 years 5 months for Ralph.  He still works every day and can still golf.  I have hope that he meets if not beats 31 years!