Looking at a better 2009

It has been two steps forward and one step back lately (sometimes even one step forward and two steps back....).

In the good news column, Eric's blood counts are rising dramatically now. This is a good sign for him.

In the not good news column, the pain in his side turned out to be a couple of tiny abscesses on his liver. While not uncommon following a transplant, he didn't need this new bump in the road. It's causing pain and is just one more complication. Fortunately, this type of abscess will respond to a specific antibiotic. And with recovering white counts, he can come off some of the other prophalactic antibiotics.

So it looks like he'll be in the hospital a while longer. He is still not eating so he needs to be on TPN, he needs IV antibiotics and he needs to be inpatient for pain control.

He's been down lately - certainly understandable. He does have his internet access back again (it's a pilot program in the hospital and I guess there is not a process in place to fix it when it doesn't work - took a while to get it back on). He does read his email and blog comments even if he can't always respond. We all appreciate the kind words, prayers and good thoughts. Thank you.

Day 23

Eric's WBC is still rising slowly - but it is going in the right direction. He's had a few minor issues over the last few days - his PICC line had to be re-adjusted after migrating and coiling up near his heart. This meant that he had to have a traditional IV for his antibiotics etc and his TPN was discontinued for a bit. A final adjustment late yesterday and subsequent xray showed that the line is back where it should be.

He's had a sore belly and will have a CT scan later today to see if anything shows up. Pain meds are keeping any pain under control. We do need to remind him that there are no medals for putting up with pain and that he really will get better quicker when he is 'feelin no pain'.

He's still not eating much of anything. Solid foods seem to upset his stomach. He does drink juices and Ensure or Boost. We'll bring in a Booster Juice later today for a bit of a change.

We had a nice Christmas although very different from other years. We took turns visiting Eric to keep him company and that worked well. We'll definitely plan on another turkey dinner when Eric feels better!

Dexter is keeping us smiling! He's had a steady stream of visitors lately and loves every minute of it. He's just fit into the family wonderfully and is just what we all needed to make us laugh and give us 'Dexter' stories. Morgan and her family came for a visit yesterday and he has definitely added her to his favorite people list. Shelley and Dave were home for Christmas and brought their cat Helix -- let's just say that Dexter has NOT added Helix to his fave lists!

Christmas Wishes....

It's a special time of the year when many of us have the opportunity to sit back and appreciate our families and friends and we often take time to reflect on the past year.

My first impression of 2008 is that I will be glad to leave it behind! Then I think of the generosity, kindness and warmth that we have seen while Eric fights this beast called Hodgkins. First and foremost, we are incredibly grateful to a kind stranger who has willingly donated bone marrow to Eric twice. This person is truly special. S/he has given this gift of life willingly and has no expectations of anything in return. Likewise, there are hundreds of strangers who have donated blood and platelets - each of you who has donated blood has given Eric or someone like him a chance to keep fighting. These are gifts like no other and they make the presents wrapped and waiting under the tree pale in comparison. Thank you.

I had only one wish for this Christmas. I want Eric to be healthy - I want this transplant to work. Today his white blood count rose! A WBC of 0.2 is like a miracle. While still a dangerously low white count.... this is twice what he has had for the last couple of months. Finally - a sign of engraftment beginning.

May all of you have a wonderfully peaceful holiday season and a HEALTHY and happy 2009.

Merry Christmas to all... and to all a good night.

Day +18

These feel like long days.

There is some increase in neutrophils which is very good news - but it all feels very slow. I think we are all impatient and exhausted.

Physically, Eric is doing what they doctors expect. While they continue to monitor his lungs, no infection has ever been identified and he has not had a fever in some time. Quite amazing when you think of it.

He is getting TPN as of yesterday to give him a boost nutritionally.

And we are all very very happy that Harry is back. Harry is a pharmacist on the team who has always taken a special interest in Eric - he is a very very special man with an exceptional skill set and just an all-round nice guy.

Day +14

Eric's cough got a bit worse on Tuesday so we are back to droplet precautions (masks for all who enter his room and he is confined to his room) and yet another chest xray and CT scan. By yesterday his cough seemed alot better so not sure what's up. They also did a CT scan of his abdomen area as his red blood counts dropped more than expected on Thursday.

Not really alot more to update. We're waiting on blood counts to start to rise.... As the Ottawa team does not use Neupogen to artificially stimulate white cell production after and allo and he had a marrow infusion (rather than stem cells), engraftment is expected to take longer. First signs of higher blood counts are expected sometime between 15- 20 days.