September 19, 2011 - Monday





Chrissy moved into the apartment with the kids on Sunday afternoon. They are all very happy to be together. Chrissy and one of her good friends, Allison had worked very hard last week to find it.

Together at the apartment

David had a clinic appointment today.  The nurse practitioners performed an exam of David and went over every medication that David is taking (there are a lot of them). They adjusted or ended of a few of the prescriptions that he is taking.

His counts were:
WBC: 2.8
HGB: 11.6
Plts: 11.9
ANC: 1.4 

He was reminded to try to eat foods cooked from home as much as possible and if he eats out to not eat fresh fruits or vegetables so he doesn't expose himself to bacterial infections. He was also reminded to stay out of the sun as much as possible and if he is going to be in the sun to cover up. The exposure to the sun could active Graft vs. Host disease symptoms by activating T-cells that could attack his body.  

A home health care nurse will have to come visit David once a week for an IVIG (Intravenous Immunoglobulin) drip. It's a very expensive ($1,000.00 a treatment)and it contains the pooled IgG (immunoglobulin (antibody) G) extracted from the plasma of over one thousand blood donors. It's in a clear glass bottle and a nurse has to stay with David the entire time he receives it in case he has a reaction to it. The IVIG helps fight infections and helps prevent GVHD (Graft vs. Host Disease)

IVIG

David was told he will have clinic appointments twice a week for the next couple of weeks, then move to weekly and after that every 2 weeks. There is the chance they may be able to move back home after next week. When he's released to go home he has been given permission to drive locally. He will need to be driven to UCLA for clinic appointments every other week for the next 100 days. 

On November 29th they will take a "footprint" test called a "RFLP". Prior to the bone marrow transplant they took RFLP (or DNA) tests of both David and his donor. On Nov. 29th they will take a sample of David's blood and reproduce the test to find out if the donor's bone marrow is reproducing in David's body or if David's is.