Monday, August 20, 2007
Update # 116
Day Plus 251
Good Evening,
Our heat wave has broken but only for a bit and then it will be returning. Jeff says Iowa is cooler than us.
Jeff drove down to Hillsboro yesterday and it took him longer than usual. He commented he was tired and even rested for a bit along the way. When he arrived, we noticed the difference in his appearance from when we left him in Iowa the beginning of the month. Jeff had been on a lower dose of medicine for 3 weeks and we figured Dr. DiPersio would be changing this medicine.
Today's early appointment time showed some good blood work. The white count returned to the normal range and the important red count rose to almost the normal range! The other counts are also mostly in the normal range. We are so thankful for all that.
The symptoms for the Graft vs. Host have increased but Dr. DiPersio stated they are limited and upped the Prednisone to a higher dosage. It is still considered a low dose and we pray it works to control the GVHD. The watery eyes that Jeff has experienced for several weeks can be a precursor to the typical dry eyes of GVHD. Dr. DiPersio wants the oncologist in Waterloo to find an ophthalmologist for Jeff so his eyes can be checked for changing symptoms of GVHD. Overall, Jeff is doing fairly well but we want to control the GVHD from progressing. Remember, some GVHD is a good thing!
After we finished mid-morning at Siteman, we took some time to visit at Cardinal Glennon. We were able to see Dr. Gauvain and the rest of "our family" at Costas and 4th floor. They were thrilled to see how Jeff is progressing. And yes, the other boys who were in the transplant unit the summer of 2006 with Jeff are doing well. In fact, little Josh was coming in after lunch today for an appointment.
Monthly port flushes will be Jeff's routine in Waterloo. Dr. DiPersio does want blood work also the month of October. Dr. Masri in Waterloo will do this and then fax it down to StL. Maybe that red count will finally be normal. Jeff's one-year-post-transplant appointment in StL was scheduled for December 10th. That will be an all-day test-after-test kind of day.
Jeff is truly enjoying being back in Waterloo in his new apartment. He's waiting for his part-time work hours to turn into full time but he loves the opportunity of just going into the station to do his job.
We continue to ask that you keep Jeff in your prayers during these symptoms of GVHD. This increase in Prednisone should calm things down for Jeff. I hope to wait and update again in October after the next blood work. We are thankful you all help us time after time. God bless.
love,
Marcia