Thursday, March 1, 2007

Update # 98

Day Plus 79

Good Evening,

Jeff knew his legs would not permit him to walk the several city blocks distance from the hotel to the opposite end of the BJC campus so I pushed him in a wheelchair this morning to his eye appointment.  It certainly is great to never have to go outside.

The ophthalmologist said that as of now, Jeff has no Graft vs. Host in his eyes.  He performed several tests on Jeff's eyes and said they were healthy with a pretty good amount of tears.  The blurry vision can be caused by some transplant meds or it can be an indicator of future graft vs. host.  There is some dryness in Jeff's eyes with more pronounced dryness in the left eye.  The doctor recommended that Jeff use eyedrops before prolonged reading or computer work.  Of course, any change in his eyes will necessitate calling the doctor.  Otherwise, Jeff does not need to return for 4 - 6 months.

We were back at Siteman in time for Jeff's antibiotics treatment.  Jeff is pretty worn out so he slept most of the time getting his meds.

A few minutes after arriving for his antibiotics,  Barnes Home Care dropped off the box with the equipment and meds for home treatment for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  We brought it home with us and waited for the nurse to arrive to explain things.  The basics of giving him the IV meds are the same as in 2001 but the equipment is now basically disposable.  One thing he could keep is the IV pole.  I said how many guys have an IV pole as an accessory in their apartment!  They have decided to up the one antibiotic dosage so Jeff will have IV meds every 12 hours starting tonight and going through Sunday night.

Monday is a regular scheduled visit with the nurse practitioner.  After it, Jeff will have his IV antibiotics there.  We'll see how she thinks the pneumonia has decreased.  I'll update that night.

We are glad to be back home and thankful Jeff did not have to be in-patient.  We know it could have been much more serious.  He'll stay inside again for a while to rest and gain back his strength.

Thanks for your continued prayers and concerns.  God keeps blessing Jeff during this long process.

love,

Marcia