| February 25th Jared's white blood cell count continues to be low. Therefore, the doctors have decided to do another bone marrow aspiration (requiring general anesthesia) to see if they can determine why. This surgery will be conducted on Tuesday the 28th. Jared also has a mild rash on his face. Therefore, a biopsy will be conducted to see if it is caused by "graph vs. host"- a condition where the donated bone marrow causes an immune reaction attacking the patient's body. It may be a week before we know the results of these procedures. Jared may also be receiving his third blood transfusion due to low red blood cell counts. March 11th Test results have come back. Jared has good engraftment of Julianna's marrow. But there is still areas of concern. For instance, one particular line of cells (the b-cells) are not growing. These cells are necessary for a fulling functioning immune system. One possibility for the lack of these cells is that Jared is fighting a virus. More testing and time is needed before the the cause and course of action can be determined. The skin biopsy mentioned above is not urgent and will not be conducted until next month. March 16th Jared has not been gaining weight and has reduced the amount that he has been eating and drinking. Therefore, he underwent an endoscopic procedure and biopsy of his digestive system. The results of this procedure indicate that Jared is suffering from graph vs. host. The treatment for this is steroids. Steroids further suppress the immune system making Jared even more succeptible to infection. April 12th A lot has happened since the last update. Chris and Juliana returned home to Spokane and were back at work and school on March 26th. For insurance reasons, Bridget and Jared had to move to a new location. They have been staying at the Pete Gross House since April 4th. The move and separation have been hard on the family but it will soon come to an end! Jared has been given a discharge day of Wednesday, April 18th. He is coming home!! For the past 3 weeks, Jared has undergone extensive testing and all results have been promising. Blood work shows that the donor cells continue to increase and that he is free of any viruses or infections. Various biopsies show that there is no indication of chronic graph vs. host disease. Jared's apperance has changed a lot. The steroids have caused him to gain a lot of weight and the cyclosporine has caused a lot of hair growth. But he is still as cute as ever!! April 19th Yesterday, Jared was discharged from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and was able to return home to Spokane. He is still on multiple medications and requires IV fluids every night. But he is doing well and the family is glad to be home again! April 22nd An article about Jared and his homecoming was printed in the Spokesman-Review today. To read the story . |
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