Address Change

In a couple of weeks, Jo will be moving to an apartment closer to Anna for the remainder of her stay in Houston. If you wish to send Jo mail in Houston, please use the following address from this point forward:

Jo Thompson Szymanski
2323 Clear Lake City Blvd.
Suite 180-253
Houston, TX 77062

This is a huge transition. Dr. Anderlini was very clear last summer that for the first 100 days it was more important to be close to him than is was to be close to Anna. I remember Jo saying to him, "I'm prepared to be away from her the entire 100 days if you think that is what is best." The doctors are very lenient these days when it comes to patients with children, but we could tell Dr. Anderlini was very happy about Jo's willingness to make short-term sacrifices for the long-term good.

Anna will remain with the Triplets throughout the spring and Jo will be able to integrate into daily activities at her own pace. We want to say thank you again to Zander, Kaden, Addison and their wonderful Mommy and Daddy for allowing us this luxury. You have made a life-long impact on our family. We love you!

Day +76 Survivor Class

We all attended Survivor Class today and what I got out of it was this...while on Tacrolimus (anti-rejection drug) Jo needs to take every precaution you can think of. "Tacro", as the cool people say, suppresses Jo's new immune system (from Eddie) to keep it from taking any violent action against its new surroundings.

A supressed immune system makes ordinary, every-day activities somewhat dangerous. I'm talking about everything from working in the yard, walking barefoot, un-protected sun exposure, eating fresh fruits, vegetables or raw seafood, social functions with groups of people, home renovations, being around children that may have received "live" vaccinations, etc. Because Tacro suppresses her immune system, her body is extremely vulnerable to a lot of things...wait a minute...isn't that what Dr. Anderlini said last week?

The bad news is that any sort of infection or even a common cold while on Tacro probably results in a trip to the Emergency Room.

Here's the good news. The average patient takes Tacro for 6 to 9 months and then tapers off of it. Once Jo is off Tacro for good, she'll start getting re-vaccinated - all baby shots and all childhood shots have to be redone. It'll take about 2 to 2 1/2 years to get all those vaccines and to get her immune system back to full strength. At that point, the list of trouble activities is virtually eliminated.

The other big thing I heard several times was to watch out for the temptations that come with feeling as good as Jo feels right now. On a daily basis, Jo can tell she feels great, but she can't tell how suppressed her immune system is. We even ran into some friends on the shuttle that went through a transplant 3 years ago. The lady told me the best advice she could give us was to be extra careful about everything for the first couple of years.

After Survior class we felt the need to celebrate...with Spinach Dip!

Day +69 Another Big Surprise

Today was Jo's 84th day with her 3-pronged CVC hanging out of her chest. Tonight is her first night post-transplant without it. Dr. Anderlini tried to create as much suspense as possible and eventually he said, "I can't think of any reason not to take it out." Jo and Meema just about came out of their skin!

The Real Scoop

Yesterday I went with Jo to see Dr. Anderlini. Things have been going so well, I was worried my chances to see him might be nearing an end. Probably not the case.

We can't imagine Jo doing any better than she has already done. At the same time, her counts have all dropped for 4 straight measurements going back a few weeks. Dr. Anderlini is not concerned. He used the word "fragile" to describe the counts of a patient post transplant and he said it'll be that way for quite a while.

We also asked several questions about life after Day +100. He said there is nothing magical about Day +100 and it is just something they give patients to focus on. He said to Jo, "You are extremely vulnerable to a lot of things for a long time." This is why you may hear transplant patients talk about the "new normal".

In a couple of weeks we'll go to the Survivor Class and we'll learn a lot more, but here are a couple of interesting tidbits. No international travel for 2 years. No cruise ships for a year. Driving is strongly discouraged while on the anti-rejection drugs, which could be 6 months or more. No applying for the television show SURVIVOR ever! No getting upset with your husband for watching too much football - it's important to keep stress levels low.

So, Jo is doing awesome and the "new normal" seems fairly normal already. Crowded public places were never my favorite thing anyway.

Big Surprise - Clinic Graduation!

Jo got a huge surprise today. She has officially graduated from the clinic! When the nurses found out today would be Jo's last day in the clinic they all came to her room and sang a rousing version of, "Na, na, na, na...Na, na, na, na. Hey, hey...goodbye." It was a lot like when the waiters at a Mexican restaurant find out it's your birthday.

Not only is Jo done with the clinic, she is done with her daily fluids at home. Her magnesium levels are holding steady and Dr. Anderlini said he can no longer find any reason to keep her coming to the clinic. The most exciting part of stopping the fluids is that Jo will not be using her CVC at all...meaning it can only be a matter of time before it comes out!

On her way out of the clinic, the nurses presented Jo with the graduation ribbon below. Going forward, she will just go in on Tuesdays to get her blood checked and to see Dr. Anderlini in his office.

Day +55 What's Next?

This is the view from my parents home in Minnesota where Anna spent the entire month of July last year. Many mornings Anna would get up and see the lake completely calm. She would say to my father, "Boppa, the lake is like a sheet of glass. We have to go for a boat ride."

Jo's transplant experience continues to be as smooth as glass. Her daily fluids have dropped by half to 500 ml and her visits to the clinic are only twice per week. In a couple of weeks or so, she'll stop going to the clinic altogether and she'll just go in on Wednesdays to see Dr. Anderlini.

Day +100 is talked about a lot with a Stem Cell Transplant because that is when Jo hopes to have have her CVC removed. One of our friends here in the building got her CVC out a couple of weeks ago on about Day +92. She had Leukemia and she first got her CVC back in May when she arrived at MD Anderson.

Jo takes Tacrolimus to suppress her immune system and decrease the risk of rejection. She'll have to take Tacrolimus at least 6 months and maybe longer. Some people do have to take anti-rejection drugs for many years or even their entire life, depending on their individual experience with Graft vs. Host Disease.

All Stem Cell Transplant patients are told to expect a full year to pass before getting back to full strength. "Full strength" for Jo probably means getting back to the dance floor. Right now I'd be happy with half strength which I'm hoping means a trip to Houston's for Spinach Dip!

One last update from Dr. Anderlini. Last week he told Jo that she can now start her subscription to Men's Health magazine. Her cells are almost all from Eddie and her chromosomes show an X and a Y chromosome. So...is she still my wife or is she now my "Bromance"? Will she continue to go by Jo or will she change her name to Joe? Can you tell I've been studying comedy with a very popular Clownfish here in Houston?