Great News!: Engraftment has happened!

Gene’s update: Friday, May 7, 2010, Day +13

Good news and great news. The good news is that Gene’s sodium levels are adjusting and even a few digits of difference has cleared up his confusion. Last night was a much better night….not just because they found a cot for me, but because Gene was more himself, and not up quite so much at night. We both got several naps in over the course of the night.

Then, right after I left this morning, Jim called to tell me that Dr. Miller reported that they have been able to determine that Engraftment ( the process of the cells settling into the marrow and beginning to make new cells, especially right now, new neutrophils) has happened. They looked at the samples by hand under the microscope (rather than the machine-based read-out usually given) and that 80 out of the 100 cells were neutrophils. So that means that the transplant appears to be working and that the cells will shortly be on the job repairing his mouth, and kidneys too, I’d imagine.

YeAAAAAA! Prayers of Gratitude!

And so the roller coaster ride continues! But this is the second giant step we’ve been waiting for, and right now it seems like anything is possible. So, he still has the water weight…this morning down to 63 kg, coming off much more slowly than the last time, I guess because of the kidney damage, but they are working, and will recover. He is talking more over the course of the day, Jim said, compared to the last few days where talking was painful and hand signals were needed. He never really lost his sense of humor even in the worst moments, but he was definitely giving both me and the doctor a good-natured hard time this morning. He is ready to move from chicken broth to possibly a protein shake, not quite ready for mashed potatoes. His nurse today said that once the mouth starts to heal, it happens pretty quickly. They also said that he is one of the few patients they’ve seen that was able to eat throughout the ordeal, if you consider a few bites of oatmeal and chicken broth eating. He definitely has kept his appetite. Yesterday he told me that he never really got to have lunch or dinner….guess chicken broth just didn’t count for him!

So, thanks for being on the roller coaster ride with me, thanks for all your messages of encouragement and love, they really sustain me and I want to reply to each one. There will be more obstacles on the road ahead, but we’ve got the right tools for the job…..not the least of which is all of your continuing support! Gracias a Dios.