Moving Forward

Day 236-Natalie, Day 209-Alice

Clinic went well today.  It was a long day as Alice received IVIG, so far she hasn't had any headaches or other unfavorable side effects of the drug.  Alice is still very puffy and swollen from the fluid retention due to the medications she is on.  Thankfully her blood pressure is stable...something we will continue to watch.  The doctors are going to speed up the tapering process of her evening steroid dose in order to manage her fluid retention.  Also she will begin taking Lasix, a medication which helps rid the body of excess fluids.

Alice's ANC was only 200.  She was given another shot of nulasta to boost her white cell production.

Natalie is doing great.  Although, she struggled today with the blood draw.  We requested the j-tip.  It numbs the skin so she can't feel the needle...still it was a challenge for her.  The vein stopped bleeding before they collected the proper amount of blood needed for testing.  She ended up getting her finger poked to collect the remaining blood.

Natalie's labs look great.  Her white count is slightly low, nothing of concern.  Good news, her B-cell chimerism is 100% donor.  Last month when they checked zero B-cells were detected.  The B-cells are the last cell line to recover from transplant so this is wonderful news.  They may not be functioning up to par yet, but they are there and this is great.  Her oxygen levels at night are still an issue, therefore they want her to do some further pulmonary testing.  Within the month she will have this testing done to indicate if there is a restrictive airway or something that might be causing her oxygen level to drop.

Lisy

Alice's poor little ankles are so swollen the blue hospital band was on the loosest setting and still snug.  Alice spent most of the day in clinic eating. She had something in her mouth constantly.  It's great to be able to feed her when she says, "I'm hungry".

Trying to smile like Natalie.

I took this video of Alice and Evie a couple days ago.  They love being together most of time. ;)  They especially like to chase each other and giggle.  Evie is such a love bug.  She gives the best hugs and kisses to everyone.