Gaining strength

Over the last week, Jill regained some of the strength she lost during her stay in the hospital. She is now receiving much lower doses of the drugs she takes to reduce the graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). One of these, Prednisone, has the side-effect of reducing muscle mass. She is working hard to rebuild her muscles by walking and keeping active. She is also enjoying Sylvia's home cooking. They are also getting outside to enjoy Seattle's pleasant spring weather.

This weekend Jill's brother Harley and his family (wife Amy, daughter Elise and son Will) are planning a trip out to Seattle to visit Jill and Sylvia. This will be the first opportunity for Jill to see her nephew Will. I will also be there and will take some photos to share in a future posting.

tom

Out of the hospital

Jill was happy to be released from the hospital on Saturday. Since January 23, Jill has been in the hospital for all but about 4 weeks. At home she will be able to exercise a little more, be with her dog and cat, and possibly get some uninterupted sleep at night. She is now getting IV fluids using a mobile pump that she can carry in a back pack. She is getting all of her nutrition and most of her meds orally now.

The extra activity involved in checking out of the hospital and going back to the apartment left Jill pretty tired and achy yesterday. With a little rest and some home cooked meals she should be feeling much better this coming week.

Scott flew out to Seattle Friday and back to Boise on Sunday.

tom

More good news

Jill has had a string of good news lately. On Friday, tests showed that the influenza she had contracted was over and she could again leave her hospital room for short walks. Today she got the results back from the lastest biopsy that confirmed that the graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) had been arrested. Tests also showed that the damaged to her digestive tract from the GVHD was mostly healed. So the doctors have taken her off the IV nutrition that she had been on for several weeks and will gradually reduce the amount of medicine that she is getting intravenously. If everything goes well she will be out of the hospital in just a few days.

Sylvia reports that Spring is in full bloom in Seattle. Some people are starting to work in their gardens while others are getting their boats out on Lake Union for the spring and summer boating season.

tom

Ten weeks post-transplant

It is now exactly 10 weeks since Jill's transplant. She has 30 days of the predicted 100-day recovery period left. Since my last post Jill has been slowly regaining her strength and feeling better. The doctors are reducing most of the IV infusions she is receiving since she is able to take more food and drugs orally.

However, late last week she tested positive for influenza type A, the most contagious type of flu. The doctors immediately put her on Tamiflu antiviral medicine which has prevented any serious consequences. They also restricted her to her hospital room as a precaution against spreading the virus to other patients. So she has had to exercise in her hospital room. Hopefully, tests this week will indicate that the flu has been eliminated so that she can get back to her walking exercises, a very important part of her recovery.

If everything continues to improve, Jill may be released from the hospital within the next few days.

tom