We Will Know More Tomorrow

They don't do anything big over the weekend in the IPOP, just maintenance, so they are not even checking to see whether there has been any change in the stem cell population. It has been stuck at a very low number all week.  We finally got to ask a doctor how common this is -- he said about 20% of patients don't mobilize using the normal drug and they use this different one instead. When we asked how many of those patients fail to mobilize stem cells, he said he didn't know the answer to that, but not zero.  When we said that others in the clinic have expressed confidence that this will work, he did not join in the chorus. When Jon asked what was different now from the last time, 11 years ago, saying "I'm the same person!" then the doctor quickly disagreed with that. Jon is not the same person, he may not have the same capacity to produce stem cells as he used to, and it is an unnatural process that they are attempting, trying to shake these things loose from the bone marrow. He may just be holding on to them very tightly.

So there are no clear answers and no plans, but tomorrow there will be more information.  There is some possibility that they will "pherese" him, but there are no guarantees. We are not even cautiously optimistic at this point. We will just see.

In the meantime, Jon is in Baltimore all day today and I came home to do some farm tasks. He is not feeling great, but he is not suffering too much either. Little appetite, low grade fever in the evenings (doctor says that's normal), general yuckiness. The nurse said I could let him be by himself. He has plenty to do indoors, in addition to napping, so he will just rest up while I try to get some ground ready for onions and brassica seeds.

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