Wednesday +21 (11:00 AM) Up and Down

Yes, what a difference 24 hours makes. Sometimes it doesn't even take 24 hours; today is was only 12.

Jackie went to bed feeling reasonably well. This morning she could barely crawl out of bed. She couldn't even walk out of the apartment. She had to ride in the wheelchair. She is very shaky and unsteady on her feet. She is light-headed and somewhat dazed. Right now she is sleeping. She has not been able to take any of her medications this morning and has had both diarrhea and nausea. What's the cause?

Nobody knows. It could be a result of a narcotics hangover from yesterday. She was having a lot of back pain and took a lot of Oxycodone. That's a possibility. Other than that there are no real answers. All her vital signs are good. Blood pressure is normal. Blood/Oxygen is OK. Her eyes are better. Her rash is much better. Even her temperature is normal. For now, it seems we have once again gotten past the "fever" stage.

I don't have blood counts, but I know they have all increased. The doc this morning had some of the latest counts, but not all of them, and I forgot to get them before leaving the hospital. I'll get them this afternoon. I do know her WBC count was 2.0, an increase from yesterday.

They will do another CT scan this week. They do these on a regular basis to monitor any changes that might take place. They are able to see and measure the major lymph nodes. Since the lymph nodes harbor the CLL cells it is a good way to determine how many CLL cells still reside inside her body. Due to chemo, radiation, and transplant these have shrunk to nearly normal. The reason a stem cell transplant works is due to the fact the cells flow throughout the body and hunt down the CLL cells and kill them off. Well, it isn't actually the stem cells...but the cells that are produced as a result of the stem cells being infused. The actual explanation gets pretty technical and deals with Killer T-cells, etc. The point is the cells travel to all parts of the body and act like a super-duper-chemo treatment.

I suppose we will just have to wait and see what the next 12 hours brings.

Until later,

Bruce and Jackie
From Rochester, MN