I received a text this morning from Emily after Laura's doctor's appointment. It said:

Excellent report from the dr. today! the prednisone is doing its job! she doesn't have to come back for 2 wks. :) She's so happy!

So there you go!
A pretty good start to the week!!!
Wooo hooo!

 

Laura's had a fair bit of coughing for a while and the other day she noticed that her throat was scratchy. Then noticed a rash on other parts of her body. Looks like she has graft vs. host disease.

She had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday. Dr. Langston confirmed that she does have graft vs. host. They think it's a good thing when it happens in moderation so they aren't terribly concerned. However, they want to treat it now so it doesn't get worse. So, she's been given some Prednisone which will help with some of that. It will have some side effects that she may not love, but one good thing is that it will probably give her an increased appetite.

They still want to see her once a week at Emory -- which she was hoping would taper off, but we're thankful that they're on top of things.

Emily tells me that they still think she's doing well and that all of the things that are happening are normal.

Laura will start teaching again in a little over a week. And, while I think she's ready to feel like life is back to normal, she might have some adjusting to do. Your prayers are appreciated.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if I left some important details out. I hope that Emily --- or Laura -- will fill in those details in the comments section.

Thank you all for keeping up with Laura.
We love you.

Laura went to the doctor the other day. This is the report I got from Emily that day:

****

She's doing really good.  She didn't have to get blood today!!!  Jessica said that her hemocrat level was unheard of for her--29!  27 or lower and she needs blood.  Everything looks good except for her liver.  She's not yellow at all--but her liver enzyme levels trippled from the last visit.  Liver enzymes filter waste, medicine, stuff like that.  They protect against hepatitus.  So the over-production of enzymes is either a place of Graft vs Host Disease showing up or just that her Prograf level is off.  She takes the Prograf to effectively graft her new bone marrow.  And they recently adjusted her dosage of that--so that might be all it is.  They upped her dosage of Prograf today and put her on a new medicine specifically for the liver.  She goes back on Friday to check up on all this.  Otherwise, her knee is still swollen--not getting worse, but is annoying her.  They set her up an appointment with an orthopedist for Wed. morning to check on this.  And she needs to go back to see Dr. Jani in Albany--he's her breast cancer doctor--just to check up and see if she can get off the anti-hormone medication he put her on that she feels may be contributing to the arthritis in the knee.  She did her breathing treatment today that she regularly does to prevent a form of pneumonia.  It doesn't taste so great to her.  

**********

I spoke with Laura today (Friday, June 17th) and she had gone to the doctor again today. She didn't have to have blood today. They just wanted to see if her adjusted meds had made a difference. Some numbers changed. One of her liver enzyme levels is still high, but not the "OH MY GOSH! This is awful" kind of high. They've adjusted her Prograf meds and hope that things even out.

She's got a rash on her stomach and it seems like there's a rash in her mouth, too. The doctors say that is a sign of Graft vs. Host disease. And, even though you wouldn't think so, they say it's a good thing. It means her body is working to fight this new thing.

She's been working like a mad woman to clear out our family home. We sold it and closing is at the end of this month. That has worn her out. I'm heading back to Atlanta on Tuesday and hope to do what I can -- which I don't think is much (she's done pretty much everything). We'll all say good-bye to the house -- which is like another member of the family. It'll be sad, but good to be able to be there.

And, in other exciting news, Robert and Keren had a sweet little baby girl, Leah Celeste Hall, on June 15th.

Hopefully, this summer Laura will be able to "chill" and heal even more. She's pretty amazing. Stay tuned for future pursuits and dreams.

We love y'all!

I'm pretty sure this was her first bike ride in almost a year.
Looks pretty good, huh?

What am I GRATEFUL for?!!! I'll TELL you what I'm grateful for!!

I'm grateful for my sister, Laura!! I'm grateful for the donor that gave her hope!! I'm grateful for the doctors that have cared for her so well over the past few years! I'm grateful for the news she shared with me just a little bit ago!  Which is:

• They see NO leukemia!
• She is now "100% donor." The exchange has happened!
• She still has to receive blood because her blood type hasn't completely changed over. It might take a couple more months for her blood type to change. (She used to be type O positive and will become type A.)
• Her hematocrit (I don't know what that is) is 29. For the average person the hematocrit is in the low 30's...so she's almost there!
• No blood was needed this week.
• She doesn't have to go back to the doctor for two weeks... (which is very good!)
• In two weeks, they'll make a plan for her to continue check-ups in Albany with her doctors there. And, then, it'll only be every 3-4 weeks. 
• They told her for the 100 day stage (which is the stage she's in right now), she's "as good as it gets!"

Laura's highlight of the news today was that:

• SHE CAN RIDE HER BIKE!

Thanks for your prayers and all the love.

Ain't she SOMETHIN'?!

The Three Sisters

This past Thursday, Laura, Mary Celeste and I flew to Berkeley, CA to see Emily in a play called "Three Sisters."

Laura decided to jump on it when her doctor gave her permission to go see Emily's play. Mary Celeste and I were happy to be able to go, too!

I flew from Bellingham and met MC and Laura on Thursday night. Mostly, we ate good food, hung out and we enjoyed Emily's play... which has received great reviews and has sold out quite a few times.

Check this review out:::

And, this one...

 

 

Tomorrow Laura is supposed to get the results from the bone marrow biopsy that was performed a couple of weeks ago.  I don't totally understand what they're looking for, but we're hoping that the results will show that her body has accepted the new marrow and that she no longer has leukemia.

Please pray for good results. I'll let you know what I find out. GoFightWin!, Laura!!

Don't have the use of a real computer right now so this will be brief... More later.

Today at 2:00 pm, Laura will have a bone marrow biopsy. This is to make sure the leukemia has moved out. Before that time she'll have a bunch of lab work done.

Please pray for good results.

Love y'all!