Connie - Day 21

This week was one of those good news, bad news kind of weeks.

Good news:

• Connie’s cells have started to come up and they are 100% donor cells. 
• Connie’s Mucositis has started to heal.
• Connie has been able to eat a few more bites of soft foods.

Not so good news:

• Connie was moved into the ICU on Wednesday because of heart A-fib episodes and is now back on heart medication.
• Connie has run high fevers on Thursday & Friday, Tylenol does bring it down.
• Connie is on Oxygen.
• Connie still needs nausea medications.
• Connie has small fungus infections in her lungs
• Ron is spending nights at the hospital (as well as the days), neither is getting any restful sleep.

All in all it has been another rough week for Connie.  The news was good and we were encouraged by test results.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel but it seems to be miles away.  So for now Connie is dealing with many of the side effects of having a Bone Marrow transplant while the donor cells slowly produce her new immune system.  It is a slow process that just takes time and there is no way to make it happen any faster that it wants to.  Connie was pretty out of it today, restless when her fever would spike and sleeping when it was down.  Her heart rhythm was better today then yesterday so they seem to have found the correct dosage of heart meds.  We try to keep a positive attitude that each day will be better, not that everything improves each day but we have signs that the process is working and each ‘baby step’ gets Connie closer to her recovery.

Thanks to everyone for keeping Connie and her family in your thoughts & prayers.

Linda (on behalf of Connie & Ron)