We left the apartment this morning at 6:45 and just returned a little before 4 p.m. Kristen had labs, chest x-ray, chest CT, magnesium IV, neupogen shot, and Infectious Disease consult. First the nasal wash of a few days ago confirmed what we had already figured out. Kristen once again has the parainfluenza type 3. It's good that her white counts are up some so that they can help her fight this off. Today was also a day of trouble shooting. Kristen's blood pressure was high 138/99. This could be due to the fact that her tacrolimus levels were high or she could need to go on blood pressure medicine. Her heart rate was also high which could also be because of the high tacro levels. They will do an EKG on Monday to make sure all is normal. Her liver function numbers were creeping up they will watch them. They may need to change her Vfend (voriconazole) to a different anti-fungal medication. In the mean time they have prescribed another medication that will help her liver functions. So at last count we have hit 30 pills a day. Yum! The Infectious Disease consult was a precaution. The Dr.'s at MD A are big on going to specialty areas. They wanted the ID specialist to look at her x-ray and scan and talk to her to make sure there was no need for some other treatment. With transplant patients you can not wait until a symptom gets worse. So after looking at our day you can bet that we are tired and frankly, my bottom is sore from warming all those chairs! After reading all the items they are worried about, I have to tell you that Kristen is actually feeling okay. She continues to eat small meals and get plenty of rest. She's back to working on her cross stitch as I type this.
So I guess we have to list our pray concerns as:
*Total engraftment and the new cells to rid her body of cancer.
*Parainfluenza type 3, pray that Kristen recovers from this quickly and doesn't have any lung issues crop up because of it.
*Blood pressure, heart rate, and liver function issues. May Dr. Popat's team be able to adjust her meds and get to the bottom of why these are not as desired.
*That we both continue to get the needed rest to get through our long days.
*Relief from her neuropathy in her feet. Sometimes she can hardly walk they hurt so bad.
Enjoy this picture of Kristen and me with our protective masks in yet another waiting room. I'm wearing my reading glasses. I must be getting old!
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