And now for your viewing pleasure, plasma! I had always assumed plasma would be red like blood, but nope! Looks like a mixture of milk and that orange drink they used to sell at McDonald’s when I was a kid. Bleh. Kendall has been getting platelets most days, but his numbers remain low.
It’s late on Day +12. I got home not too long ago from the hospital. I hadn’t planned to go up tonight (it’s our youngest daughter’s birthday today), but I got a call from Kendall’s very concerned doctor that changed my evening’s plans.
There are no signs of engraftment yet, and Kendall’s not doing too great. If you look closely at the picture from my last post you can see just how thin his arm is (and for perspective, his nurse whose hands you can see in the picture was pretty tiny). Kendall has lost more than 20 pounds just during this hospitalization. And of course he had lost quite a bit of weight before that over the preceding five months. Eating continues to be a big issue. Kendall has a severe case of mucositis, and he has very painful sores inside his throat and now in his mouth that make swallowing even saliva very painful. It’s also difficult for him to talk. Placing a feeding tube would be very dangerous for him when he has no immune system, not to mention quite painful with those sores, but we may be looking at that soon.
I will say that it has been WONDERFUL being allowed to visit earlier in the day. When I was up there yesterday morning I got to meet and speak with many doctors and specialists (the dietician, physical therapist, social worker, support oncology, transplant team, attending PA, nurses – all in one morning!). Going up in the morning means that I am home for dinner and bedtime, which makes things much smoother here at home. I’m so very glad for the option.
I did learn that engraftment can take longer with a half match transplant, sometimes even as long as Day +18 through +21. Much past that and the doctors will be looking at if they want to try a second transplant. Lots of factors will go into that decision. We’re praying that engraftment will happen soon; a lot of Kendall’s symptoms will clear up once he has an immune system to fight them. Another transplant isn’t a really great option.