Has it almost been a week since I posted last?? Guess there just isn't that much exciting to report. I continue to do well with an occasional day of bad nausea...I guess it shows up just so I don't forget what it feels like. It is frustrating, though, because you think you are past certain symptoms and then they reappear. It is definitely not a linear path to recovery! But so far, I have been tracking along pretty steadily.
One of last Thursday's cultures showed up as positive, so on Saturday I got completely cultured checking for infections. That included two bottles at each of four different sites....in addition to some other blood draws. They did my blood count test after all that and surprise, surprise - I needed a transfusion of blood!! It was a nerve-wracking 48 hrs - I must have checked my temperature hourly, but nothing else grew so no infection. They figure the original positive was probably just contamination in the bottle.
Yesterday I had a consult with the ophthalmologist to check for any signs of GVHD. He said my eyes looked good. Today I had a doctor visit and he was pleased with my progress but says it is still early and we need to stay on top of everything. He confirmed that my 30-day biopsy was all good with complete engraftment for marrow, peripheral blood, T-cells, and lymphocytes. Go George... My WBC count is up to 5.6. I haven't seen numbers like that in years. The doctor reminded me that I have healthy bone marrow now. No signs of leukemia but they will be watching closely for that and if it appears they will lower my immunosuppressants and let George's T-cell have at it. "Release the hounds" comes to mind.... I will have another biopsy at Day 60 which is right around the corner. But the best news I got is that he put me on every other day clinic visits...woo hoo!
On the home front (er...hotel front), Mom has been back home this week to be with Dad for a heart procedure. He had it today and it went well and should be home from the hospital tomorrow. My sister came up to take over as Caregiver and we have had a nice week. I also enjoyed visits with Brant & Katie last Saturday, and Chris came up on Sunday. We found a new park with great views over the James River. I went back again yesterday when a friend from Chesapeake came up to visit. It is so nice to get outside as long as I stay out of the sun.
I hope everyone had a chance to remember in some way 9/11 today. It is hard to believe it has been 12 years. I was able to catch the Moment of Silence at the White House and some of the Ground Zero roll call on TV. My thoughts and prayers are with the many families who must still feel such pain and loss.
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1 comment:
Way to hang in there for the long haul, Rachel. You have a great team pulling for you. Praise god for progress. mother
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