Tuesday +316 (Evening) In Rochester

Well it has been a couple of weeks since I last updated the blog. We are back in Rochester for a routine checkup. We will be here through Thursday and return home on Friday.

Jackie has not felt particularly well for the past several weeks. There is no good reason why she hasn't felt good but we believe she may have some minor graft versus host disease in her stomach and gut. Today she had blood tests and the results were excellent. Her WBC count was 12.8. This is a little high but the doctor doesn't seem too concerned and says that a slightly elevated WBC count is normal after transplant. Of course for a long time her WBC count was below normal and we would have dreamed for a count this high. Jackie's hemoglobin is 11.4. This is slightly low, but still very good. Her platelets are at 232 which is excellent. Her neutrophils are above 2000 (23%), which is also good, but slightly below a normal of around 40%.

Today Jackie received here Pentamadine breathing treatment. This helps protect her from pneumonia.

The doctor has decided to perform a couple of tests to see if we can determine Jackie's lack of energy and lack of appetite. They will perform a series of CT imaging test tomorrow of her stomach and gut. They will also "scope" both ends to test for GvHD. This should give the doctors a definitive answer about GvHD. If no GvHD is found they will continue to taper her anti-rejection medications. They will also conduct a flow cytometry test of her peripheral blood to once again check for any traces of CLL. They don't expect to find anything, but her elevated WBC count gives them cause to perform the test. They will also perform an endocrinology test to make certain she is producing the levels of hormones necessary. We will meet with the doctor on Thursday afternoon to obtain test results.

So, all-in-all it should be a boring week in Rochester. They had a snow storm over the weekend and Rochester was left with a dusting of snow (15 inches). They expect another blizzard beginning tomorrow afternoon/night. It should make driving back on Friday fun!

Until Later,

Bruce and Jackie
From Rochester