Friday, May 4, 2007
Update # 108
Day Plus 143
Good Evening,
The weather today was rainy most of the day but Jeff's appointment was another bright one.
Jeff's red counts again came up slightly on their own. That antibody level has decreased some more which means his body is not fighting the donor's blood as much. Hopefully, in the near future, the level will be at zero so the red blood can produce to normal ranges.
The nurse practitioner was very pleased with the way Jeff looked. She said he could stop taking the Prednisone after only 20 days. It did the trick of jump starting his appetite and energy level. She also said to halve the dose of the anti-rejection med. It's the start of weaning him off this medicine. He needs to watch for any GVHD though.
The medicine to help Jeff walk better might be working already. They wanted Jeff to start at a low dose and increase it slowly. Jeff has done that and feels he can move without as much discomfort. Ken and I have noticed he seems to walk a little faster.
I did not mention this in the last update but Dr. DiPersio told Jeff to locate an oncologist in Waterloo who would be willing to work together on Jeff's case. This is one step in the process of getting Jeff ready to return to Iowa. We were pleased since we thought Jeff might need to travel down to Iowa City to the big cancer center. The hospital Jeff uses in Waterloo has an "Ask A Nurse" program. The day I phoned to ask for help in determining which oncologist in Waterloo Jeff should use, again proved God's miracles in our lives. The nurse who answered, paused and said I had called the right person. Her daughter had a bone marrow transplant six weeks ago in Iowa City. She gave me the name of the oncologist in Waterloo who is working on her daughter's case along with the transplant doctor in Iowa City. I then called the oncologist's office in Waterloo and explained Jeff's situation. So, Jeff has been taken on as a patient by this doctor. Jeff's basic information has been entered into their computer and whenever Dr. DiPersio tells Jeff to head north, Jeff can then make an appointment to meet the doctor.
Another bright spot for today was our visit to Costas at Cardinal Glennon. Jeff had not seen Dr. Gauvain and his favorite nurses since January. They were just thrilled to see how great Jeff looked and how well he is doing. Those people will always be so special to us since they have been with Jeff since 2001 and are the ones who helped heal Jeff and get him to the right doctor for his transplant. Oh, we forgot to ask you to tell Dr. Chu hello for us. We love you all.
Jeff's next appointment is May 14th with Dr. DiPersio. That's the day Jeff is hoping to hear the magical words about returning to Iowa. We pray Jeff continues to improve for that to happen in June after his Day 180 bone marrow biopsy. He'd like to start work the beginning of July.
Someone had some questions about a previous update. If you ever want to look back at something, you can go to Jeff's website and see all the updates since July 2006. The address is (no www) updates.jeffsandlin.com. We appreciate everyone's concerns and prayers. You are wonderful friends to continue your love. We are most grateful. God bless.
love,
Marcia