Katrina’s medical primer to Elizabeth’s recovery

With all the questions I’m asked on a daily basis, this slightly misleading question is asked most frequently: How come we won’t know if the stem cell transplant worked until next year?

Well, here is your crash course in stem cell transplants. (Please note: this high school German teacher studied biology for exactly 1 year in college, with only 2 semesters in a genetics lab...read at your own risk).

Point 1: Cancer treatment

VIPER successfully treated Elizabeth’s lymphoma; before the transplant, she was declared CR (complete remission) as opposed to PR (partial remission). When she has a PET scan, we will know whether my donation through the stem cell transplant was effective in preventing a reoccurance. A PET scan is tentatively scheduled for about 100 days from the date of transplant. We pray this scan shows no active sites (which could indicate cancer) and that Elizabeth remains cancer free for ever and ever. (If this is all you want to read, you’ve gotten the main idea. Skip to the summary below & comment away.)

Point 2: Potential complications due to cancer treatment
Unfortunately, there can also be some complications from an allogeneic (donor) stem cell transplant.

Subpoint 2A: Because chemotherapy compromised Elizabeth’s immune system, she is especially susceptible to infection due to bacteria, fungi or viruses; thus the assortment of anti-fungal & anti-biotics that she is currently taking. We hope she will be weaned off of these in the next 11 months. This susceptibility is a primary reason for the perennial gloves and masks which one must don when one visits. It is also the reason that Elizabeth doesn’t want to see if you if you are coughing, sneezing, or oozing from any part of your body. It’s also the reason we get to lock her in attic. (Just kidding.)

Subpoint 2B: Elizabeth is like a baby; wait, let me re-phrase: her immune system is like a baby’s...without the health benefits of her mother’s breast milk (And look, I love ya kid, BUT...). Her body can’t handle a lot of foods, especially those to which she may have an allergic reaction or which could be “unclean.” This is why you gotta cook everything dead. She also has no acquired immunities and will need to re-develop them or be re-immunized with all the childhood vaccines. During the next 11 months, she will be able to try some foods that are currently off-limits.

Subpoint 2C: Another potential complication from a stem cell transplant is called graft vs. host disease (GVHD). This occurs when my stem cells screw up and wind up attacking Elizabeth’s organs/immune system rather than defending them. They know they shouldn’t do this and are currently doing as they have been ordered. (Go fightin’ stem cells!) Because Elizabeth and I were such a good match (insert any number of jokes here), the risk of this disease is decreased. She is also taking immunosuppressant meds for this--immunosuppressant meds are yet another reason for mask and gloves. She may need to take some of these meds for months or even years as GVHD may rear its ugly head now, in a year or in three years.

Summary: Generally speaking, the doctors are pretty impressed with our Elizabeth, although currently her platelet count is a little low and she may require a transfusion; she’s bouncing back faster than the “typical” patient and they’ve actually sent her home ahead of schedule. (Woo-HOO!)

I know this may not be a very entertaining post, but I hope it has proved informative. Besides if I begin to post mundane things, maybe Elizabeth will take the reigns herself again.