Good Afternoon,
Well it has been a long week, but well worth it. The transplant team admitted me last Friday really not knowing what was going on. I was so weak and sick, I did not even put up a fight. I had multiple tests including an abdominal ultrasound, 3 blood draws a day, and CT of my head. With my severe headaches and nausea, they became quite concerned that I had meningitis, which can happen at this point post-transplant, so they say. So on Sunday, I had my first and hopefully my last spinal tap. It came back negative. Dr. Shafer, one of the hepatologists on the liver team, and one of my favorites, walked in my room and said, Grote, you're killing me. They were baffled. I never seem to take the easy road. Then on Monday after numerous tests, they found that my quantitative CMV came back positive. This value for Cytomegalovirus should be ZERO, mine however was 450,000!!!!! I contracted this virus from my donor. About 80% of us carry it, but it usually stays dormant and causes no problems. But with my compromised immune system, it reared it's ugly head with a vengeance. They were going to send me home with a central line, and I was going to receive IV Ganciclovir, which is an very strong anti-viral for 3 weeks. However the liver team was concerned with the risk of infection from the central line, and wanted to try the oral medication Valcyte first. The bad part of taking these meds in this high dose is it affects my white count, with is already down to 3.0, and my neutrophils are only 1,000. Needless to say, I am so susceptible infections, that I will be staying home for a few weeks. If the Valcyte brings my numbers down too much, they will then switch me to the IV medication. With that large viral load, it will take some time to bring that number down. She also said that I can still feel poor for another 2 weeks, so that is something to look forward to. I am ready to meet this challenge head on and get back on the road to recovery. I hope I can convince my body of that.
This is bound to be one of my last bumps in the road, I am convinced of that. I am very weak, but it is so nice not to run a 103.5 fever, with a severe headache, so things are looking up. Thanks again for all of the love and concern. I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight, that is for sure. My mom has been awesome taking care of the kids, like always. I sure miss them when I am gone. I would like to thank the Kizer's and Uncle Al and Nolan for taking the kids here and there when they needed it. I hope to repay the favor some day. We couldn't get through this journey without so many caring people, I am so thankful to be surrounded by so many friends and family.
Bless you all,
Trish
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