Day + 28 - Doctors Conference Today at 8 am + more added

Inzwanai was our night nurse last night. He is African and speaks with a slight British accent. He gave outstanding care to Deb and we enjoyed a discussion about African, European, and American food supplies. 

He is very much opposed to the genetic modification of seed here in the US. He is also opposed to the artificial means of producing rapid-growth chickens and cattle that we employ in the USA. We had a good talk about the work of the great Scottish missionary doctor in Africa, Dr Denis Burkitt, who discovered the amazing health benefits of the high fiber contained in the typical African diet.

Delores has served Deb in an exceptional way for several days as . She is a super gentle and encouraging person. She and Deb have clicked together as you can see in the photo.

Heather is the Thursday day-nurse. She got here early to do the hand-off briefing with Inzwanai so Deb's care could be coordinated.

Layla and Reuben are friends in Atlanta. Layla made a special card for Deb. Thanks Layla!


Tonight will be a week in hospital. Deb has improved tremendously and her electrolytes are mostly stable and the viral infection seems to have been overcome.

The whole myeloma team of doctors and APNs are meeting now to discuss each patient's progress and to share treatment ideas. We expect to see Dr van Rhee afterwards. We are hoping for good news about the MRI from yesterday.

I've been posting early in the mornings while in hospital as opposed to afternoon posts in the chemo clinic. Labs happen in hospital much faster than in clinic.

Expect more news to be posted thoughout the day as we get it.

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10:55am update

Dr Bakkous just completed his exam of Deb. Some rash has come back. He was in the conference when Deb's case was discussed. The burning question from the docs: Why hasn't Deb's white count come up? Even Dr Barlogie, the head cheese of all things myeloma was asking that question.

Background: with this Natural Killer Cell protocol, growth factor is not given to boost the production of white blood cells as is normally done after chemo. Therefore, Deb's body has to get to the point that it is making white cells by itself. This is day 28. It's about time for some action.

Dr Bakkous said that Dr Barlogie wanted a bone marrow. Dr van Rhee was absent, so he will give his feedback before ordering the bone marrow.

So, we are standing by for the decision regarding the wonderful bone marrow test.

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6 pm update

Had a chat with our classmate from Roswell, Ga. They've been here a long time. His wife, the patient started out with lupus. Then the myeloma arrived. That progressed to kidney failure with need for dialysis. Now a tumor has appeared on her throat. Other than those few problems, they are doing fine!

Reminds me of my old friend Ray whose favorite joke was 'other than that, Mrs Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?'

Other classmates are from the Mobile area. Several are on this floor.  For some reason, we seem to have more Mobile area classmates than from anywhere else. Shrimp? Oysters? Oil? Mullet?
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Bone marrow now scheduled for morning



Blessings!

Platelets -(Normal range 150-500) a whitish colored component of blood. Low platelets=higher Woozy factor!
CRP -(Normal range = 0.0-10) An indicator of relative health. Lower is better. When the number creeps up, Deb could be getting sick.

Day  White Count  Platelets  CRP

0         0.04               29              12.8
1         0.07               15              77.0
2         0.03               42            140.3
3         0.07               27            144.1
4         0.23               52            206.0
5         1.21               33            168.2
6         2.32               26            214.0
7         2.29               11            209.3
8         2.84               25            230.2
9         2.32               12            234.1
10       2.66               24            220.1
11       2.50               15            196.0
12       2.54               28            186.0
13       1.98               18            181.0
14       1.22               28            199.9
15       0.95               20            138.6
Stem Cells on Day 15
16       0.83               32            129.4

17       0.86               22            121.4

18       0.70               12            110.3 

19       0.55                9             159.2

20       0.75              14             162.9

21       0.36              26             127.9

22       0.53              13              86.2

23       0.34              28              59.6 

24       0.29              14              95.8 

25       0.38              28            114.5

26       0.40              17            129.1

27       0.37              29              87.0 

28       0.41              24              72.6