Sunday +39 (5:45 PM) Olive Garden - Again

Well....nothing new in our routine. We spent the morning at the hospital getting a 1 hour drip infusion of Ganicyclovir. Add the usual visits from nurses, doctors, and routine checks such as blood pressure and weight and it is a 2 hour visit under the best of circumstances. The good news is her counts continue to improve. Her RBC (Hgl) level was unchanged at 10.1. Her WBC count was 4.3 which is a substantial improvement from yesterday's 3.4. Platelets also improved dramatically to 92 from yesterday's 76. Tomorrow they will do additional blood draws to test her Cyclosporine level. They will also perform another PCR (polymerase chain reaction DNA) test for the CMV virus. If the test is negative they will continue to give her IV Ganicyclovir for another week and perform another PCR test next Monday. If that test comes back on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week negative they will discontinue IV anti-viral treatments and switch to an oral med. The reason they are so concerned with the CMV virus is because it can present in many different ways and if left untreated can be very serious.

The doctor took a look at the new rash and declared it "probably a case of GvHD". She resolved to "keep an eye on it". We received a prescription for a steroid cream to apply. The cream has to be refrigerated. Why? I have no idea. Certainly makes application less fun. Jackie is hoping the rash doesn't spread beyond her arm and fingers!

As with most days her energy level was very low this morning. It is about all she can do to drag herself the two blocks to the hospital. As the day goes along the energy level improves. We had a late lunch at the Olive Garden. Afterwards we drove around Rochester sightseeing.

In about 2 hours we will return to the hospital for Round 2 of the daily Ganicyclovir treatment. We plan on arriving just before 8:00 PM - just in time to watch the first hour or so of Desperate Housewives!

Until Later,

Bruce and Jackie
From Rochester, MN