A Slight Drop of Free Light Chains

I think a lot of the time I spent in the mountains before I came down with AL Amyloidosis.  I have enjoyed many days of hiking and taking in the beauty.  The photo here is one taken during one of my climbs.  There were many moments I missed a picture because the camera was packed away or it was the middle of the night and a tri-pod was needed to take a great time lapsed photo of the stars.  One of the most spectacular events I remember was in the middle of the night on Mt. Adams, near Yakima, Washington.  I was camped out with two friends at 9,000 feet at a place called “The Lunch Counter.”  Coming out of the tent I was struck with the beauty of the night sky.  I could see thousands of stars.  It was so incredibly clear.  I woke up my friends and told them to step out and see the sky.  This past week I came across a web page of a photographer, Luke Humphrey, who has taken the most spectacular pictures and captures the beauty of the mountains at night (click here).  A few of the photos he has posted are from Mt. Rainier, a place called “Steam Boat Prow” that splits a glacier.  The picture shows the star filled sky with the early morning light just touching the summit.  The photo brought me back to those spectacular moments that would stop you in your tracks.

 

I have good news to report on my health.  Just today I learned that my lambda free light chain (λFLC) numbers are going down.  These proteins that are miss-folded and the body cannot use as building blocks for the immune system will float through the body and become lodged in organs tissue and nerves and creates trouble.  Over the past three and a half years, I have had an analysis of the amount of these proteins in my blood stream performed 39 times.  There have only been seven occasions that the values have been this low.  I still have a ways to go, but I like the path I am on.