Ups and downs continue (part 2)

Given the way things have gone over the last few weeks, it seems only fitting to use the same blog title as I used exactly one year ago. Yes, we are in a much, much, much better place than we were one year ago. However, the ups and downs do still continue. If I were to chart how Becky feels on a daily basis (physically and mentally), it would probably look something like the chart on the right. This chart isn't that. It's actually the stock market performance over the last year. But for those of you that understand how that can be an emotional roller coaster, this gives you an idea of where we're at. The good news is that much like the stock market, things are generally on an upward trend since last November. If you happen to be one of my Facebook friends, you'll understand that this plot similarity is simply coincidental correlation, not causation - i.e., Becky's health does not depend on the performance of the stock market, or vice versa.

First, some quotes from last year's blog posts around this time:

We've had our ups and downs this week.

On the plus side, her blood pressure is back up over 100.

At some point this may lead to a possible liver transplant, but for now we're just trying to address the day to day.

I suspect we have a long journey ahead.

This year, Becky's liver is functioning absolutely great. Blood work continues to show the main numbers are all within expected ranges. We're still working on getting her white and red blood cell counts up, and she's started some new treatment (injections) for that. She was also diagnosed with a couple different viruses over the last few weeks and she's back on a medication to help fight those. The transplant team has also lowered her immunosuppressant meds a bit to allow her body to help fight the viruses. This has led to the development of "donor specific antibodies" (DSAs), which is a medical term indicating her body is showing signs of rejecting the new organs (likely because the immunosuppressants were reduced). This doesn't feel like an urgent problem because they don't plan to retest for DSAs until November, but it is yet another "thing."

The new medications and/or injections also led to a drop in Becky's blood pressure. After a few days of her complaining of feeling a bit off and a little dizzy, we started monitoring her blood pressure and she was around 90-100 over 45-50. So, more adjustments to medications. And it was probably the first time Becky ever heard somebody tell her to "liberalize salt intake." We continue to do the Rx dance. Send more of this. Don't need this. Change the strength of that. Blood pressure is back up.

At this point we're rapidly approaching a year since the transplants. Hard to believe, right? We expected, and the doctors believed, that things would have pretty much smoothed out by this point. The intestinal problems and the viruses have extended that timeline a little. When I asked how typical these ups and downs are at this point, Becky's transplant coordinator said, "I agree it's been a bumpy ride." (so, not typical)

Overall, it's still an upward trajectory. We've started taking walks around the neighborhood in the evenings. Hopefully the cooler weather will allow us to continue and extend those in the coming weeks/months.

Thanks again to all those that continue to pray, support and inquire.

(Last year's blog post: Ups and down continue)