Houston We Have Liftoff (D+13)

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Elise had a real rough night last night. I was thinking it would be OK because the afternoon had been relatively calm, but it wasn't to be. I was stayed at the apartment and Becky stayed with Elise and they "pulled an all nighter" (as Becky put it). Apparently Elise had continuous bowel problems and severe pain. They were up all night. So much for the positive tone of my post last night...

When I arrived they'd just dropped off the DHR results from the day before. Elise and Becky looked exhausted but happy. The result showed that the donor's stem cells are engrafting in Elise's bone marrow and producing neutrophils! Exactly what the BMT process is all about.

So we celebrated a little while they changed some of Elise's IV meds, and Elise toasted with a drink of contrast dye for a CT scan she was scheduled to have at 1130. We know how to party! Becky headed back to the apartment to catch some Z's so she could party again tonight, because, and I know you're not going to believe it, I'm apparently not as compassionate as Becky at 3:30am. Shocking!

So I pulled the day shift today. Elise had a CT scan which was an adventure because they couldn't decide what kind of dye to use. They are trying to figure out why she's having GI issues. After the CT scan I spoke with a couple of her Drs and they basically shrugged their shoulders and said "There's nothing to see." They think its just part of the engraftment/mucositis process which is a good thing because it means its probably not something serious (knock on wood).

But the mucositis is still a significant problem. Elise isn't taking in many calories so they plan to start  Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) tomorrow which is essential providing nutrients via IV. They try to avoid this as there can be problems, but the most significant issues Elise is already dealing with: having an IV and also being attached to an IV for long periods of time. She's been on an IV drip for almost 2 weeks solid, so it's not a huge deal and if she can get some nutrients thats a good thing. They hope its only for a short period until her WBC count comes up higher, maybe a few days to a week.

We're real happy about the DHR results. Now we just need to plow through the other issues one step at a time.

PS Gotta love "the look" as Grand Dad Cowan calls it.