Holiday Greetings

This posting is coming to you from Seattle where, Tom, Harley, Amy and Elise are visiting Jill, Sylvia and Scott for the holidays. We all celebrated a delayed Christmas on Monday and have been visiting since.

Jill learned today that the transplanted stem cells are 95 percent grafted based on an examination of her bone marrow. This means that her progress is right on target. The clinic has reduced the frequency of check-ups. Jill still tires easily but is noting improvements in her stamina each week.

Tom, Harley, Amy and Elise are getting to see some of the city and enjoy the Pacific Northwest winter climate. We wish you all a happy and safe New Year.

tom

Getting ready for Christmas

Hi everyone. Jill is feeling better all the time. Lots of things going on. She had a couple of procedures this week. First they performed a bone marrow aspiration (which means they took a small sample of marrow tissue) to determine how well Harley's cell's have engrafted. They will have the results of those tests early next week. Even though her spinal fluid was clear of cancer when tested earlier, they injected chemo into the fluid as a precaution. The stem cell transplant procedure provides protection against recurrence of the cancer in the lymphatic system but not in the spinal fluid area. The doctors are planning three more treatments spaced at two week intervals. They expect minimal side effects other than some fatigue.

Meanwhile, Jill and Sylvia have done some Christmas shopping during non-busy times in the stores (to avoid crowds). They watched National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, an annual tradition of the Johnsons. Sylvia is planning to bake some Christmas cookies this weekend.

We wish you all a very merry holiday season. Keep safe and warm.

tom

Blood cell count rising nicely

Hi everyone. Jill is feeling much better than she has for quite a while. She had been quite nauseous from the immune-suppressing drug she had been taking to reduce or prevent graft-versus-host disease. As a result she was taking anti-nausea drugs to compensate. But this week the docs put her on a different immune-suppressing drug which she is tolerating much better. As a result she has been able to decrease the amount of anti-nausea meds she was taking.

Jill has been having daily blood-draws to monitor her blood cell count. Her white blood cell numbers are rising nicely, indicating that the stem cells that Harley donated have engrafted and are starting to produce blood cells. Because the counts are rising nicely, she will be going to twice weekly rather than daily labwork. Even though she already has a good number of white cells, she must still take precautions to prevent infections because she is taking the immune-suppressing drugs.

Because she is feeling better she has more energy and is exercising daily to build her stamina. The weather in Seattle has been quite conducive to walking. Sylvia and Jill have also been doing more Christmas decorating with non-plant decorations.

Scott's parents, Jerry and Cheryl, are in Seattle visiting this weekend. This coming week Jill, Scott and Sylvia plan to attend a Christmas party for patients, and their families and caregivers, which is being hosted by voluteers at the clinic.

Some of you have asked for their address in Seattle. It is,

525 Minor Ave N
Apt #403
Seattle, WA 98109

Best wishes,

tom

Good progress

Jill is now at 16 days post-transplant and making rapid progress. Her brother's donated stem cells are beginning to graft (regenerate her bone marrow) and so her blood counts are starting to rise. This is on, or slightly ahead of, the typical pace for transplant patients, which is a good sign. If everything continues to go well she will continue her recuperation in Seattle for about 100 days in total.

Jill had trouble adjusting to some of her immune-suppression drugs so the doctors are trying some different ones. Overall she is feeling a little better everyday. She and Sylvia are getting out regularly for walks up to the clinic. They have also started preparing for the holidays--they bought and decorated a two foot Christmas tree.

Scott is in Seattle for the weekend.

tom