Transplant +9

A better day again today.  A good night sleep (for a hospital with multiple interruptions), is always a better start to a day.  Yesterdays nausea controlled by a stronger IV version.  Medically a quiet day, just received platelets for the 7th straight day.  Had a good response on hemoglobin from blood yesterday and I hope to get two days reprieve from transfusions.

Barb and I had a good visit with the unit head this morning.  She says I am doing extremely well, and issues I have are controllable and the onset of some side affects they are not seeing yet and we might not either.  So we began to talk about engraftment.  She fully expects engraftment, it's how long yet, how quickly do the numbers improve, and other such questions which will determine when I can go home.  Funny concept to talk about on day 9, but also encouraging.  But also a reminder that this is only Phase 1.

Phase 2 will take us to the 100 day mark.  During that time I will remain on cyclosporin, an anti rejection drug.  This drug will put the brakes on the developing immune system thereby keeping it immature and not tremendously effective.  The point is that we don't want the new stem cells (my immune system) from rejecting me (the host).  It would do that by attacking what it deems foreign, my organs.  The 100 days is meant to be a time to come to a truce as host and graft.  What we will see is some Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD).  It can be vigorous or mild, but normally attacks the skin, digestive system and liver first. This is in the acute stage which is in the first 100 days.  Chronic GVHD can occur after 100 days and become chronic.  We do want some GVHD in order for the new stem cells to have friction with me and then recognize leukemic cells as completely foreign, and destroy any if found.  A complicated business.

On Monday I was reading through the Christian Renewal and read an article by Nelson Kloosterman on the book of Jonah, the last in his series.  It struck me that God was appealing to Jonah to realize that as the Creator of the people of Nineveh, He had every right to have compassion on them.  If God can have sympathy for those He has created but have rejected Him, how much more so can we His children be convinced of  His love and care.  Listened to a sermon on Psalm 121 touching on the same theme.  What an awesome God we have.

Psalm 121:1,2,7,8 ESV
I will lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
The LORD will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.

Prayer Requests
1.  Give thanks for my good progress so far.
2.  Give thanks that my jaundice is now gone.
3.  For blessing on the engraftment process.
4.  For safety from any attack on my system by bugs.