Yesterday, Jo and I were in Bethesda, MD for her 2-Year checkup. When we were there 2 years ago, construction had just begun on a brand new welcome center. It is now almost complete. This was our first trip to Bethesda without crutches since Jo's initial consultation in November, 2004. We found ourselves walking places where we were not used to walking and doing things we were not used to doing. It took a while to realize that we had never before walked around Bethesda with this much mobility.
Jo had a bone marrow aspiration, which is always the highlight of the trip. We did get to talk to Dr. Young, Dr. Scheinberg and Dr. Childs and I found out some interesting history. According to Olga who runs the hematology clinic at the NIH, Dr. Young has been doing research on Aplastic Anemia for 27 years. If you remember, Jo had 4 doses of ATG when she received her treatment, which made her very sick. Back in the old days, patients used to receive 31 days of ATG!!! I cannot even imagine how sick they must have been. Dr. Young and Dr. Childs are going to Vietnam next week to help set up a bone marrow transplant clinic of some sort.
As of today, Jo has officially stopped her Cyclosporin, the immunosuppressant drug she has been taking for the last 2+ years. She will be monitored closely for the next couple of weeks to make sure that she does not experience any sort of relapse after stopping the Cyclosporin.
2 comments:
That is great news.
Hello Jo, I was sorry to learn about your health problems. I just found out last weekend at Peach State in Atlanta, GA. I have met you several times with my husband Bill Crenshaw who used to be the dance instructor at Coyote Joes in Charlotte, NC. He always thought so highly of you. The last time we spoke was in Miami, December 1996 when you guys danced in the half time show with Scooter Lee. But we did have the priviledge to see you in Atlanta a few times. A quick update, Bill passed away March 29, 2007 with glioblastoma (an incurable malignant brain tumor). This has been the hardest thing I have ever endured in my life. He was such a wonderful husband, friend and dancer. After learning of your illness I wanted to say hang in there, girlfriend. Bill fought so hard, but lost the battle after 10 short months. I have seen what the fighting side can do along with God's help. I will so keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Wishing you all the best and good test results. Debi Crenshaw
bills1gal@aol.com
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