Not according to plan

Just a quick update. I am writing this at Stanford. Andrew was admitted on Friday with fever and very low counts. Not sure what is going on. Counts are supposed to go up but they have been going down. A Bone Marrow Biopsy is scheduled for tomorrow to see what is causing this problem. Then to decide what to do next.

'bout time for an update

Been a tough spell for Andrew. Blood counts all very low. Transfusions today should help him feel a lot better. Bone marrow results mirror the blood lab results ... Andrew has engrafted very well (about 90% Grant's DNA). The thought is that Andrew's remaining anitbodies are rejecting the cells Grant's DNA is making - so they are going to try and "wake up" Grants t-cells at a faster rate (by reducing the dosage of  immunosuppression drugs). The hope is that this will get Grant's fighter cells (t-cells) to fighti back and dominate. Chances of GVHD (graft vs host disease) will increase so will be keeping a close eye on that. Andrew keeps telling them he feels really "giddy" ... he means "dizzy" ... but they define giddy as being deliriously happy ... just as well I am a good at interpreting when needed.
Very quiet out here at Stanford today, only a couple of patients up in the ITA unit. I love my Kindle on days like today ...  but miss the coffee.

C'mon Aussie, c'mon

Let's not talk about cricket ....
Actually, trying to encourage the Aussie team to fight back.
It's looking like Andrew's immune system is putting up a good fight and we want Grant's to fight back.
At yesterday's visit they couldn't deem much from the BMB results because they were inconclusive ... weren't able to harvest enough marrow due to scar tissue. They did take a small piece of bone and hoping to get some test results from that soon. Lab results however were not so encouraging. Once again, Andrew is very anemic so waiting for them to call to arrange a time to go back in for a top up. This is now a "trend" .. indicating that Andrew's antibodies are fighting the graft ... and even though it is a whacky immune system, it appears it is a mighty strong one. Platelet count also took a dive but nothing conclusive about that one until it shows a definite trend. Apart from the fatigue, Andrew is feeling good, doing some "fun" computer programming, drove the car for the first time in months, has a walk to the park most days and great appetite (with the 100 days up, was able to enjoy some very delicious homemade Xmas cookies, Xmas dinner with all the trimmings etc.)