To Read Tami's Story from the Beginning

Just CLICK HERE. Her blog begins on March 12, 2009 with a post titled "Tami's Myelodysplasia Diagnosis." Then at the bottom of each post, click on the words "Newer Post" located just below the comments section on each page.


Thursday, July 9, 2009

Post Stem Cell Transplant: Day +9

Sorry but Tami is not up to Visitors Today

I have no update yet for how Tami is doing this morning but I do have some bad news about yesterday. Tami's abdominal pain has not subsided and her doctor is now concerned she may be displaying a symptom of Graft vs. Host Disease :(

The odd thing is, is that it is too early for GVHD to have developed. Normally the earliest symptoms would appear is at +20 days and more typically at +100 days.

She will have more tests done today but if it is determined that she has early onset GVHD there is an additional medicine that can be used to treat it. 

Edited this section to correct an error about what GVHD is: A patient's body rejecting the donor cells is an immune reaction when the patient's body recognizes the donor cells as bacteria and reject them.

What GVHD means is that the patient's donor cells recognize the patient's own cells as intruders and proceeds to attack and eradicate them. Please say a prayer for Tami that she is not already beginning to develop this condition. It could become a major setback in her recovery.

I should have an update on how Tami is doing this morning shortly.

Update 11:46 am: At this point it appears Tami's abdominal pain could be caused by three different issues:

1. The Mucositis could be inflaming her GI tract causing an infection. Remember the mucositis can effect any area from mouth to colon. Most often it manifests orally but it can effect the stomach and intestines as well.

2. The Graft vs. Host Disease

3. A fungal infection

There are treatments for all three conditions, they just need to figure out which one she has.

It sounds like Tami will undergo some type of Laparoscopic procedure today so that the doctors can actually see what the inside of her intestinal tract looks like and identify the source of her discomfort. I'll keep you posted when I learn more details.

She is also receiving a platelet transfusion today.

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