Stem Cell Transplant, Day + 10 weeks, 2 days

Sorry that it's been a while since the last update, but there's very little new to report. We're still in the hospital and Denise is still being treated for various GI viruses which may be showing some slow improvement. The spinal rituxan brought a quick response to the Epstein-Barr virus that showed up again in her spinal fluid; the spinal fluid sample last Friday was negative, but they will likely give two more injections for good measure. Meanwhile, the longer she's in the hospital (finishing week #11) the more things pop up like muscle spasms and skin problems from inactivity and long periods in bed. No light at the end of the tunnel yet.

Tomorrow I'll out-process from my Air Force civil service job at US Northern Command and effective Sunday, November 1 I'll be an old retired guy.

Jim

Stem Cell Transplant, D+Several Weeks

Jim again. Several of you have asked about Denise so here's an update post. We're still in the hospital five weeks or so after the last post in which I hoped we'd be gone in a week or so. Basically, it just takes a long time for one's GI tract to recover from the harsh chemo Denise received to prep for the transplant. She has very slowly improved with increased capacity for eating normally and reduced diarrhea and abdominal cramping, but that's been an up and down process. Right now, she's having a bit of a setback with a resumption of pain and diarrhea and will have a colonoscopy tomorrow to find out why. On the plus side, her transplant is solid, with strong blood cell counts except for platelets which are still low. This is getting kind of old.