We started experiencing a big turnaround this morning as Suzie started coming out of a stupor she has been in since getting home last Thursday. Long story short, the move to fight GVHD with prograf versus prednisone was the uderlying cause of her lethargyt. They started out by giving her too much prograf too soon which gave rise to many side effects, none of them good, and she exhibited most of them. Most worrisome was an increase in sugar with both the prednisone and the prograf acting as catalysts. I thought she was headed for another stay in the hospital but she's pulled out of it and will be home for Christmas. Less prograf going forward, for a while, and much hope for continued remission of the cancer.

Merry Christmas to all,

Mike

Suzie was discharged late Thursday because we can treat the GVHD at home as well as they can in the hospital. She's tired, although less so than the day she was admitted, but glad to be here where she's a bit more comfortable. Doctors are trying a new 'cocktail' to see if they can help control the GVHD using less Prednisone. They will check her blood levels on 12/21 and again on 12/23 when we visit with her oncologist.

Semper Fi,

Mike

What a week! With Suzie's blood pressure stabilized and her immune system fortified, Graft versus Host decided it was its turn to mess with her. The rash appears on her scalp, face, neck, hands, legs and feet and she is suffering lots of pain and discomfort in many of her joints. Will she never get a break?

As background to yesterday's post, Suzie's oncologist had ordered tests to determine the level of IgG antibodies in Suzie's body. FYI, we've since learned, via WebMD, that IgG antibodies are found in all body fluids. They are the smallest but most common antibody (75% to 80%) of all the antibodies in the body. IgG antibodies are very important in fighting bacterial and viral infections. In a normal person, you would expect to find 565–1765 mg per deciliter. The hospital determined that Suzie had only 41 mg per deciliter! Not good, so they decided to inject her with Gamma Globulin and give her immune system the temporary boost it needed.

Turns out that infusing Gamma Globulin can be tricky. She flushed heavily at first, so they stopped the drip for an hour, gave her an additional round of preparatory drugs, and began anew. She did not flush this time, but it appears that this round of injections, plus the high levels of prednisone she is taking, precipitated the rapid and dramatic rise in blood pressure. Not fun!

Anyway, she remains in the hospital and will probably be released on Wednesday. Her BP is still fluctuating, but has not gone above 170, and needs to be weaned from her IV medications and back onto pills.

Love to all,

Mike

An event that seemed minor at first turned a little ugly Saturday afternoon when Suzie's blood pressure began rising. Went over 200 around 5:30 and climbed as high as 217. Several attempts with different medications to bring the systolic down failed and doctors were about to move her to intensive care when, at 2:30 Sunday morning, they decided to try one more medicine. Her systolic fell to 190 by 3, to 150 by 3:30 and to 142 by 4, thus ending the crises. We thank God because the last thing she needs is to suffer a stroke!

Suzie was admitted to the hospital yesterday afternoon because she was lethargic and running a very high fever. This is not surprising given that this is flu season and that her immune system is compromised. The good news is that this is not the cancer, all of her red blood counts look good, and it is not COPD, the concentration of oxygen in her system is 98%. Doctors think we caught her in the early stages of a bacterial infection and are treating her accordingly. It does not look like she is in danger, we'll post again once she is released from the hospital.

Mike