Updates

Dale is now home. He was discharged from UCLA on March 1st. His liver biopsy showed acute GVH (graft vs. host) of the liver. He bled internally after the biopsy and required 2 units of blood. It was very scarey. He stopped bleeding about 12 hours later. He was in a lot of pain for a few days after the bleed. Dale is now on 4 different types of medication to try and control his GVH. His bilirubin climbed to 55.8 (nomal is less than 1) this past Friday so he was placed on a very high predisone pulse for 5 days . (200mg/day) I have never seen anyone take this much prednisone. He is now on 120mg a day. This is still a very high dose. Because of the steroids, Dale has muscle weakness especially in the legs. He has a very hard time walking up the stairs. Running is out of the question. Getting up to go the bathroom was a chore but it seems to be getting easier these past 2 days. The prednisone also makes him very emotional. He will go from fits of anger to laughing and not really knowing why he is laughing or crying. He is very jaundiced. Despite this all, he continues to push through his school work. This has only become possible over the last few days. When he first came home, he slept most of the day because he was so tired. Our dear Auntie Millie came to visit from Hawaii for a few days and this really brightened Dale up. He did his best to sit and eat at the table with Auntie Millie. His best night was "movie night" when they both cuddled up on the couch and ate furikake popcorn. So far, the recent infusion of Derek's stem cells have kept Dale's leukemia from reappearing in the blood. However, now that Dale is on 4 immunosuppressants, he is at risk for the leukemia to return. The doctors are trying to keep a balance between the GVH and the GVL (graft vs. leukemia) The GVL is what is keeping the leukemia under control but the GVH which comes along with the GVL is damaging the liver. It never seems to be easy or simple.The doctors told us at our last appointment that they are doing everything they can to control the GVH and the rest is up to GOD. So tomorrow, Dale and I plan to go to church when it is empty and pray with our pastors for Dale and his two friends that are fighting a fierce battle against cancer. Thank you all for your prayers for Dale....