Tuesday +253 (Evening) Still in Rochester

Well, we aren't headed home. Last night Jackie ran a fever of 102. This morning she still had a fever of 101.5. Today she ran a low-grade fever, but nothing high. As I write she has a fever of 100 degrees.

We spent the entire afternoon meeting with the doctors and they felt it would be best if Jackie stayed in Rochester for a few more days to see if her fever subsides.

She continues to do better and is eating a little better (but not a lot). They believe her fever is still related to the C-Diff. There is no other reason to believe there is any other problem. All of her tests continue to come back negative. The docs can tell us with near certainty all the things she DOESN'T have, they just can't tell us what she DOES have. For example, they know she did not contract Gardia by drinking unfiltered water from mountain streams or E. Coli from Taco Bell.

On Wednesday they will do another series of blood tests. On Thursday they will do a series of tests blood tests and a general exam. If the fevers have subsided we will probably be cleared to come home for Christmas. If not, we will see the doctor on Friday and they will want to schedule a colonoscopy to see if there is something else going on. The possibility exists she could still have CMV or GvHD in her stomach/gut/bowel. The peripheral blood tests for CMV are negative but it sometimes happens that the blood tests are negative yet CMV still exists. Of course GvHD is also a possibility.

They've asked that we go to the hospital if her temperature rises above 101.3 for blood cultures. It seems that the best time to get a culture is when the body's temperature is on the rise.

I suppose the good news is that the infectious disease doctor said that in BMT transplant patients fevers of unknown origin are fairly common and they often fail to find a reason for the elevated temperature.

So we may be cleared to come home on Thursday, just in time for the snowstorm that is due to develop on Wednesday and Thursday. Otherwise it looks like it will be Xmas in Rochester.

Until Later...

Bruce and Jackie
From Rochester, MN