Diagnosis: Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). A Journey

Today marks one week since George was admitted to the hospital. He has had some tough days at the beginning where he was out of breath walking to the bathroom, coughing fits that brought him to tears and retching, and complete frustration that every day was no better than the last.

But a couple of days ago, George started feeling better, improving a bit every day. On Thursday, the nurse turned his oxygen down from a 4 liters to 3. Friday, they lowered his oxygen to 3 and on Saturday, it was lowered to 2. In addition, George has been able to have conversations without feeling the need to cough and when he does cough, it is not to the point where he gags or cries.

Sunday, Michael and I went to visit George, as Michael was home from school on Easter break. George was so happy to see him! We had a wonderful visit, and George was able to talk for long stretches without feeling the need to cough. And the nurse lowered his oxygen to 1 liter!

Michael’s mom, Jeannine sent some goodies she made for Easter, namely deviled eggs and a fruit salad. I was surprised to see him gobble down two deviled eggs and spoonfuls of salad. The appetite is back! He has been eating all his meals as well. Yay!

The attending physician stopped by George’s room this morning and he called me so I could listen in on the conversation. The doctor was pleased with George’s progress. He said everything they have sent out for cultures has come back negative, so they still aren’t sure what they are dealing with. But the steroids (Prednisone) and broad-spectrum antibiotic (CEFIMA) seem to be doing the trick! While the doctor said George’s lungs are still the main concern, they are also looking at his liver panel because his counts have been high and are going up. I have seen test results called “liver injury panel” regularly in the UPenn portal. The doctor said it’s entirely possible that it is DILI (drug induced liver injury) and that as they draw down on his meds, the number should plateau or go down. If not, then they need to investigate some more. He will have an ultrasound of his liver today to get more information.

The good news is that the doctor said he thought George would be able to go home at the end of the week, if he is able to get off his oxygen and just be on room air and if there is no medical issue with his liver. Fingers crossed!

Right now, we are waiting for the results from his bone marrow biopsy which will let us know if the chemo has put George back into remission.He is scheduled to start another round of chemo on the 17th, but we aren’t sure if Dr. Loren will want to go forth with that because of what’s going on with his liver right now and because one doctor said the problem with his lungs could be a side effect from one of his chemo meds. George has a telephone appointment with he tomorrow morning. So, we will see where we go next!

It was great to see George smile yesterday and be happy while visiting with Michael! Now, if they will allow him to shower, he will be really happy! (He hasn’t been allowed because he would get too winded walking to the bathroom and exerting the energy to shower.)

Until next time….