marrow report

i just received a call from hup. thelab that does the graft analysis did not receive my marrow. this a different lab from hup. the maroow was lost in transit?*&%#++&%$. iwill have another marrow done next week. bob

Hup visit

Charlie drove me to hup on mon., his luck held and we were in and out in 90 min..i still do not have all the bone marrow results, specfically the graft %. the bone marrow was normal, no evidence of leukemia or my other disease- myloid dysplasia. the blood counts are normal. i did have a reoccurence of the viral infection[cmv] but they started treatment for that a week ago and my blood titer is now zero, so in another week i will be able to stop the antiviral medication. one of my other problems is the return of the skin reaction of host vs. graft. i have a mottled skin that does not itch or bother me, but it bothers the docs. they increased my steroids [ that does not make me happy ] and are adding a new drug to slow down the reaction and eventually reduce my steroids. although these problems are important, they are not serious and do not bother me. what really bothers me and causes most of my discomfort is the 'shakes' causedby the antirejection medication cyclosporin. i need 2 hands to hold acup of coffee, and my writing is atrocious. they are readjusting the dosage and checking the blood level twice a week. if they get this under control then iwould feel better. as soon as ihear about the marrow i will post it. thank you for your prayers. bob

Still No Word

Dear friends and family,

Well, I've been putting off writing til we got some news about Bobs' last bone marrow biopsy, but we haven't heard anything yet. Bob has an appt. w/ Dr. Luger tomorrow, so I hope we get some word then.

Bob hasn't written b/c he's been feeling punk again. The CMV titer has been on the climb for the last 2 weeks, so he is back on the anti-viral meds, but at least they are oral this time, and not IV. Unfortunately they are having the same effect of giving him severe tremors when combined with the cyclosporin. He's also had to increase the prednisone b/c the rash from the GVHD(graft vs. host disease) has come back full-fury. At least it is not itchy this time around, and so far his blood sugars have remained normal, and he is still off insulin.

On a lighter note we were able to get out to dinner a few times when he was feeling better, and enjoyed an anniversary celebration at the Mainland Inn. We also had a nice visit on Monday from our son Matt and his new bride Mandi. Matt and Mandi were married in Memphis on the 15th and decided to have an East Coast honeymoon. So we got to see the video and pictures just a few days after the wedding, which was so nice since we weren't able to be there. And speak of the devil, they just pulled up to spend the afternoon with us before heading back to Memphis tomorrow. So I'll close here and be back again when we have some news about the bone marrow.

Thank you for the prayers and well-wishes.

Love, Mo and Bob

HUP:Bone marrow

a good visit, in and out in 90 min. including a bone marrow biopsy. overall thet are pleased. they want me to exercise more easy for themm to say-- i am poisined with cyclosporin to the point of shakes and fatigue, i feel the effect of reduced steroids, and my kneews are grinding with the slightest activity.but we will try some walking. i will not hear news from the bone marrow for 1 or 2 weeks. all my aother counts are acceptable. my b lood sugar is low enoughso that i have stopped insulin. we are making progress. thank you for your comments. bob

shakes

there is no trip to hup thiis week,which is good. but my drug level of cyclosporin went very high and caused some problems. i had shakes with any activity and i slept thru out the day,could not even read. they made adjustments last night and today should be better[i hope]. the dr.'s and nurses still say that i am doing very good. bob