Friday +16 (10:00 AM)

I suspected Jackie's counts had improved this morning. She had more energy and was able to walk to the hospital appointment without the aid of a wheelchair. She was a little tired and winded, but much better than yesterday.

We were just completing our appointment when I asked the PA what Jackie's counts might be so I could post them here on the blog. She gave me yesterday's counts. I told her we already had those and I would wait until tomorrow to get today's counts. She thought today's counts might already be on-line so she decided to give it a check. They were, indeed, on-line even though it had only been about 30 minutes since the blood draw. Jackie's RBC went to 9.8. Still below normal but much improved from yesterday. This explained her increased energy level. Her WBC count had jumped to 3.0. This is a very healthy jump. Her platelets went through the roof! They are at 163. This is considered "normal". You may recall that she was below 10 for over a month. A one point we wondered if these would ever recover.
The only bad news is that her creatine levels had risen. This could be the result of too much Cyclosporin, the immunosuppresent drug. In any case, they wanted to give her a unit of IV magnesium and a unit of floods. So... we are stuck in the hospital for about 4 hours today. Other than that, all is well.

Yesterday was also the first day she could resume brushing her teeth in a normal manner. Prior to yesterday she had to use a foam "brush" and a nasty tasting mouthwash.

Well, that's all for now.

Until later.

Bruce and Jackie
From Rochester, MN