New treatment started after Thanksgiving...

This week was amazing (mostly) as we enjoyed the company of Alexia and Isabella from Thursday to Monday. That gave us all much to be thankful for on Thanksgiving :)

As we previously posted, Carol started the new Vidaza treatment on Monday. Nausea and all that follows lingered for the rest of the day, only to subside after some of the medication kicked in late at night time. Another stronger anti-nausea medication was given to her today and so far there are no signs of discomfort. Hooray!!!!

5 more Vidaza treatments are left which will be done by next Tuesday.

Another bone morrow biopsy will be done by the END of December to determine if the results are already sufficient for the next step. Transfuse Lymphocytes from the original donor. Moffitt has already begun with the request procedures.

Saturday Carol needed a blood transfusion to bump up her otherwise low red counts and while having the transfusion at SMH, Alexia and Isabella came to visit and really brighten her day.

The rest of the weekend with Alexia and Isabella was full of fun activities, with a couple of runs to the beach, a visit to the playground and the usual fun at home. For Thanksgiving we were joined by Joe and Joyce (aside from Alexia and Bells). Also enjoyed were the fabulous meals that Carol so diligently had prepared. All organic and homemade.

We're looking forward to Tuesday which will bring the end of the Vidaza treatment as well as our visit with Uncle Teddy and Aunt Judy!

More updates soon.
Thank you.
Jaime

Starting a new battle

Dear friends and family.
Today we learned that Carol’s Leukemia cell blasts have returned after the chemotherapy and bone morrow transplant she just underwent.

One positive and hopeful sign is that there are still plenty of the donor cells in Carol’s bloodstream to proceed with another milder chemotherapy drug and a Lymphocyte transfusion with the intention to give the remaining donor cells a much needed boost to fight Carol’s stubborn Leukemia cells.

Starting on the 30^th of this month (+/-), Carol will be given a chemotherapy drug called Vidaza, which can be administered via IV during a 7 day period, without a hospital stay.
Dr. Tomblyn explained that Vidaza could probably be administered on an outpatient basis at Dr. Chu’s local practice in Sarasota.

We expect this drug to bring Carol’s Leukemia cells into remission and mostly to help avoid the progress of GVHD. (Graft Versus Host Disease)
Only 4 weeks after the GVHD is under control, or “mostly” under control (small % is OK), a Lymphocyte transfusion harvested from her original donor could be transfused.

I know this is a pretty confusing explanation. If anyone needs some clarification, either Daniel or myself will try our best to do it, in person, via email or by phone. Please let us know.
Thank you again to all of you for calling, writing, texting, or just thinking about Carol.
Sincerely.
Jaime

Updating last post...

On Tuesday the 16^th, Dr. Tomblyn contacted Carol to inform her that the bone morrow biopsy preliminary results show a relapse of 15% to 20% of Leukemia blast cells.
Dr. Tomblyn is reducing more rapidly the anti-rejection medication (Tacrilimus / Prograf) to avoid suppressing Carol’s immune system.
Specific treatment options will be discussed at our next Monday appointment @ Moffitt.
One of the possible treatments would be the transfusion of new Lymphocytes from the original donor as long as there are no signs of GVHD. These Lymphocytes would need to be harvested and transfused to Carol as a boost to the originally transplanted cells.
In the meantime Carol continues with her usual routines. Exercising with a little moderation and eating only her delicious organic meals.

I will continue updating often.
Thank you.
Jaime

Stable Condition

For the past few weeks while being home, Carol’s condition has been pretty much stable.
Just some minor variations of blood count results, which sometimes climb up and others times go a bit lower.
Dr. Tomblyn @ Moffitt continues monitoring her progress weekly and for the most part she recommends some adjustments to her medication to address Carol’s changing blood count results and also to improve the propagation of the donor cells.
The anti-rejection medication she has been taking since the transplant may also be inhibiting the donor’s cells propagation. Constant monitoring the balance between the needs for her anti- rejection medication while giving her new cells bigger chances to propagate.
For this same reason, the steroids regimen she was given for the past weeks were discontinued. And now (without the steroids) the level of energy and appetite are a bit diminished.

While at home, only in one instance, Carol needed blood transfused and it was done at our local hospital, Sarasota Memorial.
Yesterday, the 15^th, Carol had another bone morrow biopsy to determine what percentage of new donor cells are in her body now. Preliminary results could take one week. Two weeks for final results. We are shooting for high numbers!!!
In the meantime Carol continues with her healthy habits, exercising a little slower or walking shorter distances, while still cooking and eating the healthiest of foods.

Now for excitement:
At the end of this week we expect our friends, Beth and Ray to visit us.
Next week Alexia and Isabella will visit us from the 25^th to the 29^th to help us celebrate Thanksgiving and eat a big turkey and all the trimmings!
December 3^rd, Marty and Vera will be visiting us while passing through the area for some business.
We look forward to Aunt Judy and Uncle Teddy visiting from the 7^th to the 14^th of December for lots special family time.
Alexia and Bella, with Trevor this time are returning from the 25^th till the 30^th of December for their annual holiday visit for family beach and play time!
Cousins Richard & Cathy, while on a trip to bird watching in Myakka Park, will be stopping by or meeting with us somewhere nearby sometime in January.
We want to thank everyone who visits, calls, Skypes, writes, and texts.
Sorry for the less frequent postings. While things have been pretty stable, there hasn’t been much to report.
Thank you all.
Jaime