August 25, 2006
Update # 53
Good Afternoon,
Well, I did not work a full first week of school. When Jeff came home from CG, he had an appointment scheduled to meet with the head transplant doctor at the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes Hospital in StL. Since Jeff and Ken would be traveling from Hillsboro to Barnes and not from Cardinal Glennon to Barnes, I decided to also go along.
The original time was for today at 1:00 PM but Barnes called yesterday afternoon and said it had to be changed to this morning. So I took a whole sick instead of a half sick day. We left home at 6:35 AM and arrived at Barnes at 7:55. Jeff did some paper work, had some lab work done, and then we waited. Jeff's appointment was for 9:00 but it was 10:20 when we met Dr. Dipersio.
Dr. Dipersio was very personable. He was pleased with Jeff's progress and seems to feel Jeff is in remission even though we won't know until Jeff's counts come up more. He also agreed with Dr. Gauvain about a second round of chemo at CG. That will depend on when Jeff's counts rise enough. Dr. Dipersio seemed hopeful that then the chemo right before the transplant would not have to be so aggressive. Dr. Dipersio guesses the transplant might be in November. Of course, each step depends on how well the step before that happens. Jeff's next appointment with Dr. Dipersio at Barnes is scheduled for October 23. That could change though depending on when Jeff's counts rise enough for that second round of chemo.
When Jeff was still in CG, we found that even though his insurance will cover the cost of the transplant, it does not cover the cost to search for a donor. Barnes's preliminary search found 30 potential donor matches. A request was then put in by Barnes to the National Marrow Program for grant money to initiate searching 4 to 6 of those possible donors. That will take several weeks so everything has to be timed right before they can come up with a date for the transplant.
Dr. Dipersio wanted to change one of Jeff's meds to a different one. He called Dr. Gauvain and told her about it. He also wanted Jeff on a multi-vitamin. So that's all started now. He also suggested Jeff have just a few of those Neupogen shots like he had with his Hodgkin's. He hopes to raise Jeff's white count a little sooner. When Jeff sees Dr. Gauvin on Monday, she'll probably start the shots then.
A nurse co-ordinator is going to try to set up a Wednesday for Jeff to attend a transplant class at Barnes. They hold them twice a month so it just depends on the timing -- of course. It's 2 1/2 hours and goes into more detail plus a tour of Barnes' transplant facility. It sounds great from the way this lady described it.
So we had a very positive day. A routine has quickly settled in here at the house. Jeff is thrilled to have his main computer hooked back up and working. The family room has been changed twice already this week setting up his work space!
Please continue with your prayers for Jeff -- they are doing the wonders we requested. May God be with each of you.
love,
Marcia