Biopsy Results

So sorry I've been so late in updating.

Last Monday, Laura went to the doctor to find out the results of her bone marrow biopsy.What she found out was that, from all they can tell, she is CANCER FREE!! (That sounds sweet, doesn't it?!) They also took her off the steroid that she's been on. She'll remain off of that until and unless they find a reason to start again.

She's been taking an anti-fungal medicine (I'm not exactly sure why) that costs a million dollars (slight exaggeration) which she no longer has to take.

Other news:

• All of her numbers look good.
• She only has to go to the doctor once a month now.
• Her bone density test showed that she has NO SIGNS of osteoporosis (which is pretty doggone good!).
• She is still not allowed to dig or plant in the dirt.
• She is still on immune suppressants until they decide she no longer needs it.
• And, it looks like she now totally has A+ blood type. (Isn't that interesting? When she got the bone marrow transplant, her blood type changed.)

She's been staying very busy, which I think she enjoys -- riding bikes, starring in a community play (well, perhaps not the lead role, but I've heard she was excellent!), teaching, spinning, church activities, birthday celebrations, and much, much more.

She is definitely an inspiration!
And, I love her.
So thankful for the good news.
And, so thankful for all of you who love her, too.

♪ ♫ Happy Birthday to you! ♪ ♫

Today we're celebrating Laura's first birthday! She received her bone marrow transplant a year ago today.

Woooooooooooooohooooooooooooooooooo!!

Thank you, person-who-gave-her-a-brand-new-life!

We love you!

Just a quick update on Laura:

She went yesterday to have her one-year-from-transplant appointment.

She had lab work and a dexa scan to determine bone density. Won't know the results of those until next week.
They also did a bone marrow biopsy. She was given 5 immunizations. (When she had the transplant she lost all her previous vaccinations. Had to start over.)

The doctor says that her numbers are good except for one which sort of determines if there might be some Graft vs. Host. She has some mouth sores but, according to her, it hasn't prevented her from eating or gaining 20 lbs. ☺

Because of the possibility of Graft vs. Host, she'll have to stay on the steroids for at least 2 more weeks or until the numbers come up.

The boot camp she was doing has to be put on hold as long as she's on steroids.  She says: "I guess I don't mind not killing myself every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday." 

Her hip bone from the biopsy and her left arm are sore, but that's pretty much it.

Thank you for keeping up with her. I, personally, think she's done quite well with all that's happened in the past few years! She's pretty remarkable!

Love you, people!

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?