Lordy, have we been through one hell of a time lately. R was in the hospital for 11 days after he collapsed on November 4th (with zero warning). After trying for days to figure out what was causing all his symptoms such as fever, pain, worsening blood counts, night sweats, pain in the upper left collarbone area, distended abdomen (more than usual with his enlarged spleen), low blood pressure, weakened lungs, rapidly enlarging spleen size, blood in his abdominal cavity and terribly tender abdomen, we think it came to this:

…a splenic infarction, a subcapsular hematoma, and a small hemoperitoneum.

SPLENIC INFARCTION: Part of the spleen died because it wasn’t getting enough blood (sort of like a tiny heart attack, but in the spleen).

SUBCAPSULAR HEMATOMA: The spleen bled a little inside itself. The blood got trapped under the outer layer of the spleen, forming a bruise-like pocket.

SMALL HEMOPERITONEUM: A small amount of blood leaked into the belly.

At his first appointment post-hospital stay, the doctors said his cancer had progressed so much that they had to indefinitely delay his bone marrow transplant. Without the transplant, he’d have months to a year to live. With his lungs compromised, he most likely would not survive the chemo that is given before the transplant itself.

You cannot imagine how scary this was. The transplant got delayed once because of all the issues mentioned above and that changed to NO TRANSPLANT AT ALL unless his lungs improved to a normal level.

Since then, R has been working very hard on his lungs— going for daily walks (carrying an oxygen tank but rarely needing it) and using a spirometer (to exercise the lungs while resting). Over time, he ditched the oxygen machine altogether.

Today, the oncology pulmonologist said that R’s lungs have improved considerably, so much so that she gave him a thumbs up for transplant.

But…R may need more tests to confirm his other organs are healthy enough to withstand the transplant before they’ll give us a new transplant date. The hope is it’ll be in December. This also assumes R’s German stem cell donor sticks with us. He’s been delayed twice already–is he willing to do this now that the timing has changed, or are there circumstances in his life that will take him out of the running?

So, we are still waiting for a new transplant date. In the meantime, R’s bone marrow cancer continues to progress downhill at a rapid pace.

His chances of short-term survival, even with the transplant, are daunting, but we are hopeful, and R is determined!!! Thank you for your endless well-wishes and prayers. This Thanksgiving, we are thankful for YOU.

Wishing you and yours the very best.