Back Home For Now

Kurt came home from the hospital last Tuesday. He has been doing very well at home. In fact, he said this is the best he has felt in a long time. On Friday we had to go back to the clinic to get his blood drawn and counts checked. On Monday, they had done a liver biopsy, and on Tuesday they did a bone marrow biopsy, the told us they would have some of the results on Friday. After they checked his counts, they told us that his bone marrow biopsy did not show any leukemia which was great news, but that his bone marrow is only about 20% full of cells. They said that this is seen with other patients, and that when you do a transplant that it takes about a full year for the new marrow to produce your own cells to 100%. Then they told us that the liver biopsy shows a lot of iron in it, this is because when you receive blood transfusions, there is a lot of iron that comes in the blood, and they have no way of separating it out, so it sometimes puts too much iron in the liver. They said later they can remove some of his blood and get the extra iron out. Then they told us that the Graft versus host disease is in his liver and so they need to increase the steroids again to get this under control. We are not happy about that. This will attack his muscles even more and make him more weak. But he is bound and determined to keep exercising and walking to keep the muscles he still has.
It is really good to see him doing better with his mind and attitude. He has even started working on our budgets again on the computer, and for you who know Kurt, this is what he really likes to do, make excel spreadsheets with numbers and track his money. So maybe he is getting back to normal that way, and the physical part will come later.
Thanks again for everything. We have had so many offers to help us, and so many who have taken care of our yard, brought meals, cards and phone calls. It is truly unbelievable to see how many people care about you. Keep praying for him and I know that he will soon be better. We have heard and seen others who have made it through this, and know that we can too.
Cindee