Day 74 and I'M HOME
After a long day yesterday we did finally get to see Dr. Khouri. He didn't make rounds in ATC since he has inpatient rounds for the next two weeks. He made a special trip to see me after Lynda and I pressed the APN for an answer about leaving this week.
He agreed that with my current schedule of just one infusion per week it would be okay to come home this week. He had already approved of me going home for Thanksgiving, so I just got out early.
I had my first Rituxin infusion of this new protocol yesterday. I'll have my second one next week in Atlanta. The week after that I get an infusion of the donor's lymphocytes (white blood cells). Then I'll get Rituxin the following two weeks after that. This protocol is to give the new system a boost, reinforcements if you will.
Think of a bone marrow transplant like the war in Iraq. We bombed the existing army to soften them up and then attacked with our army. We won the first battles handily, but the existing forces are now fighting back. In a bone marrow transplant we bomb the existing marrow with chemotherapy and then attack with new cells from a donor. But my old marrow cells have decided to fight back. So we are going to bomb them again with Rituxin and send in more troops.
We'll probably do three or four DLI's (donor lymphocyte infusion) over the next several months.
Ahhh, it sure is good to be home.
posted by Max @ 7:04 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Max, Lynda, & Girls, Soo happy to know you are home! Just read Tues. blog entry. THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME. Keep in touch. Love, H & A
It was good to FINALLY see you last night!
On another note... did you hear FSU bought out the remainder of Jeff Bowden's contract??? YEAH!!!
MAXIMUM news!
Glad you're back.
Wish you'd left the rain in Houston.
Terrific. We are so happy you are home. Your own family around, your own bed, your own TV set with football games, another win for Tech, what could be better? Keep those bone marrow cells of yours in retreat! This next weekend should be fun -- a lot up for grabs in the Coastal, though I don't see how Ralph gets his turtles there. BC should overpower Miami on Thursday night and seal their fate. Then we'll see if Maryland has enough backbone to play the spoiler for Wake and get the boys from Chestnut Hill a trip to Florida. And then there's this little thing called Georgia. I hope Tech isn't looking past this game.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Randy & Kathy
Hey Lynda,
Hope you put the boy to work doing all his chores, now that he's home! But if he's not doing them, don't let him supervise!
Randy
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