Our Mom is still doing well. On Tuesday Sue went with her up to Northwestern because Mom needed to get another blood transfusion. They're not exactly sure why she's still losing blood but like I've explained in previous posts, they have a couple options of what it could be and both of them can be helped/fixed.
At Mom's appointment today they did another bone marrow draw to look further into the issue. Hopefully they'll be able to pinpoint it this time and solve it! My Dad said the appointment went well today but they won't know anything for a few days.
Thanks for continuing to pray!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Thursday Appointment
Mom just text me after her appointment at Northwestern:
Appointment went great, did drop in blood a little but no transfusion. All other numbers are up which she (the doctor) liked.
Things are continuing to get better and better each week. We're so thankful. Mom, Amy, and Amy's girls came to Bloomington last weekend and we had a really great time together. It's so great to see my mom doing things she used to, and enjoying them again.
Appointment went great, did drop in blood a little but no transfusion. All other numbers are up which she (the doctor) liked.
Things are continuing to get better and better each week. We're so thankful. Mom, Amy, and Amy's girls came to Bloomington last weekend and we had a really great time together. It's so great to see my mom doing things she used to, and enjoying them again.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
We love good news
My mom is doing SO well these past few weeks :) She's getting around much more, is feeling better each day, and they keep decreasing her meds. Praise the Lord from whom all blessings flow!
She had her weekly doctor's appointment at Northwestern and her doctor was very pleased. Last week they decreased her anti-rejection meds (immune suppression meds) in half in order to determine why her blood count has continued to go down slowly. At this point they're pretty sure it's because of Joe's (the donor) blood type being different than my mom's. This causes them to fight a bit to take over, which Joe's will fully take over at some point. Since my mom checked out well again today they are now deciding whether to decrease the anti-rejection meds again or to stop them completely. This means she's doing really well. My mom said the doctor seemed really happy that her platelet count keeps going up, so this must be an important factor that we don't fully understand.
Mom did get more blood today, and may have to again in the future, but things are looking great. Mom is also excited about making the journey with Amy and kids down to Bloomington tomorrow to visit me and Julie :) Our mom hasn't been down to Bloomington since last summer! It's been way too long and we're so glad she's up for a day with the girls!! It was even her idea!
Thanks for your continued prayers. We also pray that you're all doing well and enjoying God's many blessings.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Doing well
Hi everyone...
Everything is still going well with our mom. She's getting stronger each week and feeling more like herself. This week she was able to start driving again, so that's been nice and has given her some freedom. She's still taking it easy, but it's nice to have the option to visit her grandkids or run to the store if she needs to.
Her doctor's appointment yesterday went well. They cut her immune suppression medicine in half again this week to try and determine what's causing her blood level to slowly drop. They're not sure if it's the different blood types or if it's the graphs v host. Either way, it's treatable and they're not worried. They've told us from the beginning that seeing a little graphs v host isn't a bad thing, as long as it doesn't get too strong.
Thanks for checking in!
Everything is still going well with our mom. She's getting stronger each week and feeling more like herself. This week she was able to start driving again, so that's been nice and has given her some freedom. She's still taking it easy, but it's nice to have the option to visit her grandkids or run to the store if she needs to.
Her doctor's appointment yesterday went well. They cut her immune suppression medicine in half again this week to try and determine what's causing her blood level to slowly drop. They're not sure if it's the different blood types or if it's the graphs v host. Either way, it's treatable and they're not worried. They've told us from the beginning that seeing a little graphs v host isn't a bad thing, as long as it doesn't get too strong.
Thanks for checking in!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Text
I received a text from my mom yesterday with an update:
"Ok everyone, my anti rejection meds are cut in half, that's good news...and my blood count went up .6 from 9 (last thursday) to 9.6. And Joe's stem cells are now 94.6% active in me now. I just talked to the assistant, and they like that they're not seeing any cancer cells. Praise our Lord."
It was great to get that news yesterday and I thought we should share it. The goal is that she can be off of the anti rejection meds in about 100 days from the transplant, and it looks like we're heading that way. Since her blood count went up a bit that means she's producing her own red blood cells again, which was a cause for concern last week.
"Ok everyone, my anti rejection meds are cut in half, that's good news...and my blood count went up .6 from 9 (last thursday) to 9.6. And Joe's stem cells are now 94.6% active in me now. I just talked to the assistant, and they like that they're not seeing any cancer cells. Praise our Lord."
It was great to get that news yesterday and I thought we should share it. The goal is that she can be off of the anti rejection meds in about 100 days from the transplant, and it looks like we're heading that way. Since her blood count went up a bit that means she's producing her own red blood cells again, which was a cause for concern last week.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Great News Today
The past few weeks Mom's red blood cell count has been going down as well as her platelet count. It was low enough this week that Mom needed to get a blood transfusion. Sue took Mom up to Northwestern yesterday to get this done, and they also ended up taking a bone marrow sample to see exactly what is going on and why the levels are going down.
The doctor said the blood levels can go down when 2 different blood types are combating (my Mom's against her donors). The doctor also said that she does see this happen with other patients.
My Dad took my Mom back up to Northwestern today to get the results of the bone marrow and to have the weekly checkup. They said they don't see anything abnormal (cancer) in the sample, praise God, and that they have to study the sample further to see more of what's going on. We were so glad to hear that she is still cancer free!
The doctor said they may start decreasing her immune suppression medicine that she's been taking ever since the transplant. We expected this would happen soon and hopefully it will help her continue to gain strength, have less nausea, and feel better all around!
We're so thankful that the cancer is still gone and that things are on track. We trust, no matter what, that God is in control and that He has a perfect plan for each of our lives. We ask that you continue to pray for our Mom. She specifically would like prayer for her blood counts to continue going up so the questions and confusion aren't there anymore. We'll update the blog again when we get more information. Thanks for checking in!
The doctor said the blood levels can go down when 2 different blood types are combating (my Mom's against her donors). The doctor also said that she does see this happen with other patients.
My Dad took my Mom back up to Northwestern today to get the results of the bone marrow and to have the weekly checkup. They said they don't see anything abnormal (cancer) in the sample, praise God, and that they have to study the sample further to see more of what's going on. We were so glad to hear that she is still cancer free!
The doctor said they may start decreasing her immune suppression medicine that she's been taking ever since the transplant. We expected this would happen soon and hopefully it will help her continue to gain strength, have less nausea, and feel better all around!
We're so thankful that the cancer is still gone and that things are on track. We trust, no matter what, that God is in control and that He has a perfect plan for each of our lives. We ask that you continue to pray for our Mom. She specifically would like prayer for her blood counts to continue going up so the questions and confusion aren't there anymore. We'll update the blog again when we get more information. Thanks for checking in!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Update
Mom is on her way home from her weekly appointment at Northwestern. She feels about the same as last week, still dealing with an upset stomach everyday. The doctor gave her a new prescription to try that may help her nausea. The doctors and nurses have always been very helpful to try different things if Mom's not completely comfortable.
Also, Mom's blood count and platelets have gone down a bit over the last couple weeks. The doctor said this is because Mom and Joe (her stem cell donor) have different blood types and they are battling a little. This is completely normal and should turn around about 3 months after the transplant and will not continue to be a problem. The doctor said that if Mom's blood count is still a bit low next week then they will give her a transfusion at her appointment. Again, there's nothing that we're worried about with this.
I guess that's all for now! Let me know in the comments section if you have any specific questions or give my Mom a call or a visit if you can :)
Also, Mom's blood count and platelets have gone down a bit over the last couple weeks. The doctor said this is because Mom and Joe (her stem cell donor) have different blood types and they are battling a little. This is completely normal and should turn around about 3 months after the transplant and will not continue to be a problem. The doctor said that if Mom's blood count is still a bit low next week then they will give her a transfusion at her appointment. Again, there's nothing that we're worried about with this.
I guess that's all for now! Let me know in the comments section if you have any specific questions or give my Mom a call or a visit if you can :)
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