Posted by Tyler I wanted to write quick tonight to let everyone know that tomorrow the Myelotarg infusion is going to take place. Over the weekend I defintely felt some of the effects of tapering the steroids. On Friday, I had exruciating bone pain that the doctors really couldn't explain, but that we got under control with some ice packs and nice, strong pain medication. On Sunday, then, I made a visit to the ER, because of a fever and severe abdominal cramping with a bunch of vomiting during the night. Blood cultures didn't show anything, and once again it wasn't really pinned down as to what the cause was for all of it. My guess is that it was a flare of the GVHD which would be a good thing in fighting the leukemia. I was prescribed to just take the pain medication I took for the bone pain to quell the terrible pain in my stomach/intestinal area, and so far it's been doing a pretty good job of it. I followed up today at the U of M to find out the biopsy results from last Thursday. I was interested in them mainly because in comparison with the biopsy from two weeks ago, I'd have a better idea of how fast the disease is progressing and how large my window of time to act is. The results weren't as promising as I had hoped. The number of blast cells was up to 8% (normal being 0-5% and the biopsy from 2 weeks ago showed only 2%) while the percentage of Vanessa's cells to my cells in the bone marrow had decreased from 95/5 to 85/15 (100/0 being the desired result). All of my blood counts were also down again, now beginning to reach the point where I'd need regular blood and platelet transfusions. This is official confirmation that I've relapsed and suggests a definite sense of urgency in pursuing the next plan of action, because with Vanessa's cells decreasing, the prevalence of GVHD is also decreasing and proves to be an ineffective way to combat the disease on it's own. So again today, I was faced with the decision to go the Myelotarg route or not. My liver panel test this week showed much better counts, meaning tht my liver is in better shape to handle the treatment now, with the exception of a still elevated Bilirubin level. This coupled with the results I had just received, I felt overwhelmingly that the Myelotarg was indeed the way I should go; and I didn't need much time to give my consent, knowing full well that God was/is in control and everything would go according to His will. After an emotional conversation with my mom and a short prayer, we were waiting to be called back to the infusion room, only to hear that they didn't have any openings left today, so we rescheduled for tomorrow. This again gave me pause to reflect on the possibility that tomorrow my liver counts will be even better. I've said it before and I still believe it. I don't think that a wrong choice can be made here. So tomorrow is the day if all goes according to plan, but I acknowledge that things rarely do. At any rate, I appreciate all of your prayers and e-mails and posts and the emotional/spiritual support that you are giving me. I feel like I have such a strong backing. You all make up many reasons why I'm able to put such strong faith in the decisions I'm making. Thanks for reading this, and I hope to see you all soon, Tyler p.s. I apologize for not replying to all of the great e-mails I've been receiving. I wish I could respond to each person individually, but every ounce of strength and every second of consciousness I have these days is being put into keeping up with classes. I will keep updating this board regularly, so if you don't hear from me, you can always check here to see what's going on. This doesn't mean you can stop sending the e-mails though!!! Ha. I truly enjoy reading them.
on 3/3/2003, 8:36 pm
Board Administrator
Hey,
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