Wednesday +61 (9:30 PM) The Rocket Continues

Again, I'm glad to report that Jackie's counts continue to rise. Although as I suspected, yesterday's platelet count was a transcription error. It was reported as being 223 when in fact is was 123. That was still an increase. Today's platelet count was 150 (normal 150 or above). The good numbers are her RBC (Hgl) at 11.3 (above 12 is considered normal) and her WBC count at 5.1 (normal range 4.5 - 10.0). Her ANC (absolute neutrophil count) was at 2.36. So...we now have two of three blood counts within "normal" ranges. They have discontinued the growth factor shots so hopefully the counts will continue to rise.

The increase in the hemoglobin (Hgl) has given her a massive increase in energy level. Today was almost a perfectly normal day. Although she had a wave of nausea and vomiting episode this morning prior to her Ganicyclovir treatment. This is a strange occurrence. She had a breakfast of scrambled eggs and cereal and felt perfectly normal right up until the time she became nauseated. The entire nausea session lasted less than 10 minutes and then she felt fine. It seems it is part of the recovery process. The nurse was in the room at the time and commented that this sort of thing was perfectly normal. The rest of the day she felt fine, slept a little, and did some light housework (no laundry, that's my שטיק). She had not back or neck pain at all today. This was a big relief! She also called and spoke with the woman from Tulsa that will be undergoing a transplant next week. We are scheduled to have dinner with them tomorrow night.

We also received the results from her latest chimerism test today. As expected she was still 100% donor engrafted. This allowed the doctors to reduce her Mycophenolate dosage again. This is one of two anti-rejection drugs that are used to keep her body from rejecting the donor cells. The original dosage was 3750 mg (3.75 grams) per day. This is a massive dose. It is now 1250 mg (1.25 grams) per day. This will be reduced to 0 by day 100. At some point the reduction could lead to a GvHD situation that would require treatment. Should this occur, the likely treatment would consist of some form of steroids.

So, once again, the news is all good. We hope it will continue. There are still potential problems that can pop up so stay tuned.

Until Later....

Bruce and Jackie
From Rochester, MN