The Best News Yet

Steven had a very good report on his bone marrow biopsy. It showed 100% donor DNA, which means the new system has implanted. And there are no visible malignant cells for the moment. The doctor seems pleasantly surprised and the family is very happy.

The donor's system is churning out white blood cells, which are in a normal range now for the first time in at least seven months, and probably long before he was diagnosed. The red cells and platelets are slower to come in, but they should start soon.

Steve needed to tank up with two units of fresh blood on Tuesday. He is having rather bad throat and mouth sores still, in fact they have gotten worse. It makes eating, swallowing and talking difficult. But he is stopping the $500 a spit mouth rinse which didn't seem to be helping and starting an experimental mixture with L-Lysine, basically grinding up a tablet and mixing it with liquid, then swish and swallow (supposed to taste really bad). Plus some non pasteurized yoghurt. We'll see how that works. His other main problem is fatigue, which is to be expected, but it is not nearly as bad as some we've heard about.

They are still having a hard time stabilizing the Prograf levels. One day too high and the next too low. But doctor Agura wants to keep it on the low side to allow the donor cells to work their magic so he cut the dose back to a minimal amount. The team is monitoring Steve closely.

Life is good!

Angela