The appointment today lasted over 2 hours. When we got there Dr. Schertz still had not heard back from Indiana University. Josh still can’t get the nausea under control so we spend about 15-20 minutes going over a different “cocktail”. After that we discussed some concerns Josh had over his lung and feeling that it was full of fluid again. After hearing basically nothing when listening to Josh’s chest he sent us for a chest x-ray which revealed more fluid in his left lung, almost as much as he had drained a week ago which was over 2 liters. The x-ray revealed that when Josh is laying on his left side there is about 3 inches of fluid that moves to the side of his lung. Dr. Schertz wants Josh to have another operation as soon as possible. Josh refused to have it done today because we have a motorcycle race this weekend on my family’s farm that he refuses to miss. We will be at RMH on Monday at 7am to begin the operation. They will be putting in a chest tube and draining more fluid off of the lung. They will leave the chest tube in for a few days to drain as much fluid as possible. While we were getting the x-ray done Indiana University called and talked to Dr. Schertz. Since his case is so complicated they do want to see him as long as insurance will cover it. However, they don’t want to see him until his lung issue is fixed. They are discussing whether or not he would be a candidate for a bone marrow transplant.
I don’t know too much about bone marrow transplants but from the research I have done he would need what’s called an autologous bone marrow transplant. In an autologous stem cell transplant, stem cells from the patient’s own marrow are “harvested,” stored and then returned to the body (engrafted) after the patient receives high doses of chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy conditioning therapy. Sometimes, the portion of marrow is also purged of cancer cells before being returned to the patient. Approximately two to four weeks after the transplant we should be able to see signs of the bone marrow “engrafting” or beginning to grow. The engrafting can take anywhere from 3-5 weeks to happen. He could be in the hospital anywhere from 4-8 weeks in the hospital. Since they don’t do bone marrow transplants at Roanoke Memorial he could have to stay at lodging near the transplant center after he is released from the hospital for an additional 2-4 months!
Thank you for all the support we have received. We really have been overwhelmed by everyone’s responses to Josh’s illness.
Here is some additional information on bone marrow transplants for those who are interested:
Bone Marrow Transplant Informaion
This post was posted on Friday September 05, 2008 at 8:58PM
