Thursday 1/14/10

Happy New Year! I guess we can still say that fourteen days into 2010. This update is long overdue as it becomes increasingly evident as each day goes by and we hear from more friends wondering about Bonnie’s status. As our life sloooowly transitions back to a “new” normalcy, updating this with a new post gets overlooked and we apologize for not being as faithful as we should in keeping you up to date.

Overall Bonnie is doing well in the eyes of the team of her doctors. With that said, it has had its ups and downs. We are still traveling down to Detroit once a week for a clinic visit, but as Bonnie now approaches Day 100 post transplant (today is day 97), we’re looking forward to the day when the visits become every other week, then once a month, etc. About three weeks ago, Bonnie’s liver enzymes increased above a normal level. This is something the doctors watch closely and felt it was caused by one of the meds she is (was) on, multiple blood transfusions (which she had last summer) or graft versus host disease (GVHD). They eliminated the med and replaced it with an alternate and the next week the enzyme numbers were even higher, but not a “dangerous” level, but of concern. The doctors increased Bonnie’s steroid level last week and today the liver enzymes were back down to a level lower than three weeks ago, so that was an answer to prayer. They are going to continue Bonnie on the higher steroid amount for the next week and the reevaluate her prognosis again.

The other issue of concern has been a horrible cold Bonnie developed over a week ago. Fortunately there has been no sign of infection, so it has just been a chest cold hanging on tight. Today she received an IV bottle of “immune booster” which our Nurse Practitioner said should help Bonnie fight off the cold.

Please pray for Bonnie’s mental endurance in addition to physical endurance. As the days go by we continue to learn more about her long term condition and care. It can still be overwhelming as we ask more questions and gather more answers. It can become discouraging to Bonnie thinking about the prospects of hitting Day 100 does not necessarily mean she is “out of the woods”. She is on the right path, but GVHD can hit anytime, including years from now, it’s just an unknown she has to manage mentally. More than likely she will be on “anti-rejection” meds for over a year, which means she will have to continue with many precautions such as wearing a protective mask going out in public, staying covered up when going out in the sun and many other restrictions. We are, however, very grateful for each day God has given her and will give her in the future and with minor modifications and adjustments we can adapt to a new “normal” lifestyle.

Because of the many prayer warriors who read this, we have a specific request for family friends of ours. Their (almost) twelve year old son, Micah, has recently been diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma. They are currently at Mayo Clinic as his condition was very difficult to diagnose. We don’t have many details at this point, but pray for the doctors’ wisdom as they begin his treatment and for peace for Micah and his family.

Blessings to all,

Steve and Bonnie