Tag: bone marrow
-
9 Hours in the ER Waiting Room
George was scheduled for a regular infusion appointment on the morning of Friday, December 1st. But at about 3:00 a.m. he awoke with some pretty wicked back pain. We had no idea what was causing it but we have been here before. He had awful back pain while in the hospital, but mercifully it went…
-
HOME!
Sunday, November 26, I went and picked up George from the hospital and brought him home. He was so happy to be back in his recliner! He was sent home with instruction on how to take his blood sugar four times a day and administer his insulin before each meal and at bedtime. This will…
-
Clinical Trial – Week 4
This week has been a tough one. It started pretty well…on Thursday, the 9th, the doctor said George’s inflammation markers were going down and he thought that perhaps the CRS has peaked. That was good news! Friday, George started having gastrointestinal issues – bloating, gas and occasional diarrhea. Saturday is when things started to really…
-
Clinical Trial – Week 3
All my days are starting to run together and I am finding it hard to remember what happened during which week. One new thing is that after George’s fever spike last Thursday night, X-rays showed he had fluid on his lungs. He was given Lasix ( a strong diuretic) and was put on oxygen when…
-
Clinical Trial – Week 1
George was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday, October 18. He woke up that morning with an almost debilitating back ache. The pain was in the center of his mid-back and made working a challenge. He could not get comfortable in his chair and it hurt to make pretty much any movement. Because of the…
-
Office Visit
Wednesday, we drove to Philadelphia again and met with Dr. Loren, George’s primary oncologist/hematologist. She said that although Dr. Lai believed he didn’t need any chemotherapy while we wait for his CART-38 cells to be manufactured, she thinks he does. Dr. Lai felt that since his higher than normal blast counts were confined to the…
-
Bone Marrow Biopsy #9 and Pre-Donor Evaluation
George had his bone marrow biopsy on Wednesday, Sept 13 and for the first time, we had to wait almost two hours for him to be taken back! Poor thing was starving, as he couldn’t eat. As always, everything went well and he was ready for a snack when he was rolled back to recovery…
-
A Bridge to Transplant
After meeting with Dr. Lai, the research doctor, we got some clarification regarding the clinical trial/ CART-38 cells. After George completes this current round of chemotherapy, he will undergo a bone marrow biopsy (the week of Sept 12). If he has less than 5% blasts, then he will be eligible to go directly to transplant,…
-
BM Biopsy Results…
Were not what we were hoping for. Of course, blasts are the immature white blood cells that are the main characters in everyone’s AML story. Over 20% means you have leukemia, so it’s not that. But you must have below 5% to be in remission, so it’s not that either. That means the bone marrow…
-
Bone Marrow Biopsy #8 and More
We started this week off with a trip to the cardiologist to get an EKG and a chest x-ray for George. There was still some concern about the fluid/edema in his feel, ankles and calves. The doctor wanted to make sure there wasn’t any fluid around his heart. He got the all-clear from that visit,…
Diagnosis: Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). A Journey 