Tuesday +34 (6:45 PM)

We are back at the hospital for round two of the IV antiviral treatment. Today was a good day for Jackie. She received a unit of IV fluids this morning . This always seems to give her extra energy. I think she tends to get dehydrated and doesn't realize it is happening. Of course her energy level might be attributed to her improved blood counts. They have all improved since yesterday - with the exception of platelets. Her RBC (Hgl) is 10.7. This may be the highest it has been since transplant. This, alone, could explain here increased energy level. Her WBC count is 3.1 with neutrophils at 1.36. Platelets, however, have dropped to a low of 56. I will be discussing this with the docs tomorrow to see if they have any thoughts on why they are trending down. Her all-time-high was 165 about one week ago.

Today was a beautiful day in Rochester. Spring was definitely in the air. I was able to get away for about 1.5 hours for a quick bike ride - about 15 miles. When I returned I found that Jackie had visited the gym downstairs for a 12 minute ride on the stationary bicycle. That's not a lot, but it is progress!

This evening they lowered her Cyclosporine level. This will hopefully help with her palsy. Since she has no outward signs of GvHD they probably want to see if they can induce a small amount. Remember it is the GvHD that also gives a graft-versus-cancer effect. A little is good. Also by lowering the amount of immune suppression her body will be better able to fight the CMV virus.

Well, that's about all I have for now!

Until Later,

Bruce and Jackie
From Rochester, MN