Sue Charen

No news

I guess I should post that is no news. Sue continues to do fine. Her appetite is good. There is no nausea. She is exercising everyday. We are going to Hopkins tomorrow. Sue will have an MRI of her liver to see check the status of the infection. We are still on track for April 1 for the bone marrow transplant, but may learn more this week on the exact timing.

Countdown to Transplant

Yesterday, we spent the day at Johns Hopkins. Sue received a lumbar puncture to both test the spinal fluid and provide prophylactic chemotherapy. Leukemia can sometimes seep into the spinal fluid and cause problems so this treatment is done in addition to other chemotherapy and transplant treatments. Also, although most of Sue's numbers were excellent and the doctor and nurses remarked that Sue looked much healthier, Sue has a low white blood count. We will be extra careful and stop giving a drug that may be causing this--an infection could also be the cause, but that seems unlikely based on lack of any other symptoms infections cause.

We also received the most specific timetable for the transplant: April 1 (it could slip by a week). Sue's parents and I will now try and nail down an apartment plan for the three month period that Sue will be in the hospital and nearby the hospital for constant care and checking that is vital for bone marrow transplants. Look at the links on this page to read more about bone marrow transplants.

I want to thank those who left comments and called with apartment suggestions.

Sue continues to improve her appetite, wakefulness and strength. Sue had no nausea associated with being driven in the car which is the first time in more months than I can remember. Thanks again for everyones support and good wishes. This is a marathon and we appreciate it all very much.

Much Better

Sue is doing much better. What had seemed like interminable nausea, lack of appetite, sleeping ... has dramatically changed for the better.  Now Sue is awake for at least 10 hours a day and asking for food. And she is starting to eat normal foods. Probably much of the problem has been some of the meds for the liver infection. Also, Sue is starting exercising again, which is hard because her feet still hurt (one of the chemo drugs caused peripheral neuropathy).

Snow Delay

Well, we postponed the Tuesday Hopkins appointment for fear of the snowstorm. Well, there may yet be some later, but it looks like a rain event so far.

Sue has stretched her two days into four straight days of no vomiting. She is eating more and stayed awake longer. It has made the last few days much easier and happier. Sue can now focus on recovery and preparing for the bone marrow transplant.

Quiet Time

Last couple days have been quiet. Sue is resting mainly, nibbling on some food, and watching television. Although there has been some nausea, for the first time in over two months there have been two straight days of not throwing up. The change in medications seems to have been very helpful. And although exercise is very important, Sue seems to be getting help by the sleep.

Sue's next appointment at Hopkins is on Tuesday. However, snow is looming as a major factor. Who knows how much we will get?

Back in DC

We are back in DC after three days in Baltimore. Wednesday we went to a GI specialists for help on the nausea. We will be trying some new medicines for the nausea and getting more tests. Also, the new anti-fungal is easier to deal with now that we have a new preparation (no fever and the rashes seem to be diminishing).

Sue had a bad night on Tuesday and then again on Wednesday night, but so far today is much quieter. It is another day of rest for both of us.

A Day of Rest

The last post was called "Baltimore Bound" and sure enough here we are in Baltimore. Sue had appointments on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (Tuesday became unnecessary fortunately), so we had decided to stay at a hotel in Baltimore to reduce the driving and sort of have a holiday.

It has been a while since the last post, but it has been a difficult time and I feel like this is the first time I have been able to catch my breath and write something. Sue started taking a new anti-fungal last Wednesday. That Tuesday had been pretty good. The anti-fungal gave Sue a low grade fever and minor rash, which was a normal reaction. But Sue then had a fever on Thursday despite not getting the anti-fungal and have more nausea. So they had Sue come in on Friday to get blood cultures to test for infection and went ahead and gave anti-biotics just in case there was an infection.

Well, Friday night, Saturday and Sunday were complete for Sue. She had severe nausea day and through the night and other problems. Essentially there was no real sleep.

Fortunately, the test showed no infections so the anti-biotics were withheld and the drugs to counter the side effects of the anti-fungal drug were changed. Monday was also rough, but starting around noon today, life was much better for Sue. She is back to eating, drinking and keeping food down.

The room is nice and now Sue is able to enjoy it a little bit. We should be back in DC tomorrow.