Dear Friends and Family,
When Dr. Finn Bo Peterson visited us at LDS Hospital last year on August 12, Nancy was completing her second round of chemotherapy. The news was not favorable. “If Nancy doesn’t have a transplant, she has a 5–10% chance of long-term survival—at best.” As you well know, his words were both devastating and demoralizing. At the time, we thought Nancy had an even 50/50 chance for survival. We were thrust into a different reality and had to make many hard decisions.
Today, more than six and a half months after that very dark day, we met again with Finn Bo. This time, the news was different. Our meeting couldn’t have been more dissimilar, too. It was the difference between night and day.
“I am really pleased with your progress, Nancy. I know it has been a long and difficult road, but you have made it. And I am optimistic you will continue to do well.”
Finn Bo discussed each of Nancy’s results. We already knew the most important one, her bone marrow test. It is normal and there is no evidence of leukemia.
“Have any of Nancy’s organs shown the trauma of her treatments, Dr. Petersen?” I asked.
“Winnie, the only question mark is her lungs. Nancy had a chest X-ray that was perfectly fine, but one of her lung function tests was decreased compared with the same test before the transplant. It’s not dangerous or worrisome. But we’ll want to repeat the test when we do her next bone marrow again, in three months. On the good side, her liver and kidney function are both great, and her new marrow is producing plenty of white cells, red cells, and platelets. So we can begin tapering Nancy’s immunosuppressing drug, Cyclosporine, today. It should take about six months.”
“What will that do, Dr. Peterson?” Nancy inquired.
“You may remember, Nancy, that Cyclosporine is the drug that’s kept your graft in check to allow it to ease into your body. But now’s the time for your transplanted marrow to gain full strength.”
“What things do we need to worry about in this next phase?”
“Our major concerns are pretty much the same, Winnie. Infection and GVH (graft-versus-host disease). As the graft is unleashed, the risk of infection will drop—but the chance of GVH will be increased.”
“What are the numbers now for contracting GVH and, more importantly, Nancy’s long-term chances? And what is the ‘long term’ in Nancy’s disease?”
(I felt so stupid. I know better. One should never ask more than a single question at a time.)
“Well, with Nancy making it through these difficult one hundred days, we adjust the curves. Nancy now has only a 20–30% chance of developing GVH. And I think her chance of cure, of being disease-free at two years after transplant, is as high as 75–80%.”
(Remember, before the transplant, we were told Nancy had about a 75% chance of developing GVH. And only a 50% chance of survival.)
“Wow, Dr. Peterson! I love the new numbers. Thanks, I don’t have any more questions.”
I glanced at Nancy. She was beaming and her face lit up with the biggest of smiles.
And me?
As is my tendency, I was struggling to put corks in my tear ducts until after the meeting. Nancy never turned my way, but instead, she grabbed my hand just like always. And, no surprise to me, she pivoted immediately to the practical.
“When can I go to Park City?”
“What about Woodland?”
“Can I drive?”
“Can I be alone for more than a minute?”
“How about out-of-state travel?”
Dr. Peterson patiently answered each and every one of Nancy’s questions. Technically, her leash was “lengthened” logarithmically. We have been cleared to live in Park City by March 1. She can reclaim her car (while we stay at the Marshalls’ home) from Jayna—but no plane or car trips until fall. Notably, our most cherished dream is also now close enough to touch.
We will be home to Woodland by April.
Sooner than we can imagine, we’ll be entertaining—you.
Summary: Nancy passed her one-hundred-day post-transplant evaluation with flying colors. We will return to the mountains soon, barring any setbacks. And today is my birthday. I couldn’t have asked for a better present.
Fondly,
Winnie