Weekend Update April 25 and 26

We went from straightforward clinic visits to a whirlwind of activity last Thursday.  Some very encouraging news - I had another bone marrow biopsy and the preliminary results show no lingering leukemia.  Also, the bone marrow I now have looks completely different according to my doctor; thus early indications are the engraphment was a success and the transplant is doing what it is supposed to do.  More testing is in the works to see among other things what % of the marrow is mine vs. the donor.

I did also have a slight derailment on Thursday.  Periodically since getting released from the hospital to the apartment I would become short of breath after walking just a few yards.  Othertimes I could walk from point A to point B no problem.  On Thursday afternoon I was in the clinic getting a previously scheduled echo cardiogram when I had tremendous difficulty breathing.  I was put on oxygen right away and felt better immediately.  They took me to the emergency room (with my Mom riding shotgun in the ambulance) for a chest X Ray and VQ scan as the doctors looked for reasons my oxygen saturation was so low,  The VQ scan tests for a blood clot and fortunately none was found.  The chest X Ray revealed fluid in my lungs which is the most likely culprit for the labored breathing.  I was readmitted to Beth Israel for what I hope is a short stay.

How did this happen?  Best I can tell they overloaded me with fluids while I was in the clinic (I got fluids every morning the two weeks I was in the apartment).  Since Thursday I've taken a couple doses of Lasix and have been happily peeing out the excess fluid.  Hopefully that will do the trick.  My lungs sound better and I can take deeper breaths with no discomfort.  I am waiting for the doctors to round today (Saturday) to learn next next steps including discharge from the hospital (3rd times a charm).

Thanks for checking in and I'll continue to update as internet connections allow.

Love Maureen