Friday +200 (Evening)

We just returned from Rochester. Jackie had a good checkup. Her counts continue to do well. Her RBC (Hgl) count was down a little to 10.8. Her WBC count continues to be good at 6.8. We did not receive an ANC level, but with a WBC count of 6.8 it would be good as well. Her platelets skyrocketed to a high of 193.

The results of her CT scan show continued improvement in her lungs due to the pneumonia she experienced 6 weeks ago. Her pulmonary functions were all good. They have resumed her CSP (cyclosporine) taper as well as her steroid taper. Hopefully she will not run into any GvHD problems as these two drugs are reduced. By the time of our next visit these two drugs will have been reduced to almost zero; this is a big milestone.

She was positive for C.Diff. This is one of those nasty bugs that show up in the digestive tract. It happens when you receive large doses of antibiotics or whenever your system is immune suppressed. She will have to take a nasty pill for the next 10 days. Other than the taste, it shouldn't be a big deal.

The docs felt good enough about her condition to give her a flu shot. I should note that anyone who will be around Jackie needs to get a flu shot. The docs strongly recommended that everyone in the immediate family get a shot. They also asked us to warn everyone that she CANNOT be near anyone who gets the inhaled form of flu vaccine. The inhaled version is usually used by young children and older people. It is made from live flu virus and she could contract the flu from this form of vaccine. If you do get the inhaled version you must wait a minimum of 7 days before coming into contact with Jackie.

Barring any complications, we have been cleared for a two month interval between checkups. This will put her next checkup sometime in January. I'm sure the weather in Rochester will be wonderful when we next return!

Until next time...

Bruce and Jackie
From Pryor