Good morning. I have an update from transplant. The doctor and transplant coordinator came by this morning and went over the next steps.
Today Hen will begin another course of chemotherapy. One will be given IV for 5 days and the other is a pill he will take for 28 days. At the end of that period they will do another bone marrow biopsy to check and see how well it worked. Again they are looking for less than 1%. He was/is at 1.19%.
If the leukemia is less then the plan is to use an unrelated donor which is standard. If it isn’t less than 1% they will have to use Lorien as a donor. She is a 50% match and this is not standard. St Jude is one of the few hospitals that do this kind of transplant.
There are possible complications with both, but it will be better if we can use an unrelated donor, so please pray that this last round of chemo does the trick. The risk of relapse and long term survival is 50-60% with an unrelated donor. It is less with a half-match.
Needless to say Henry’s a little more anxious now than before the visit as am I and Lorien. I know he’s in God’s hands and it will be ok in the end it’s just getting there that worries me. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. Sometimes that 12 or so inches between my head and heart is the longest distance I’ve ever seen. That said it’s getting a little shorter each day. I wish none of us had to take this path, but I am trusting the Lord and trying not to lean on my own understanding.
As Gandalf said to Frodo in Lord of The Rings;
“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
Lee
