Hello LLS Friends,

          This is Jerry, Dean and Betsy's son.  My mom wanted to update the website but has not been able to get to a computer the last couple of days.
Mom and Dad were down in Houston for a follow up appointment with Dr. Andersson.  They also had an appointment with the rheumatologist to assess the condition of Dad's ankles.  Dad had a CT scan of his lungs on Monday to assess the condition of his lungs after having the fungal pneumonia about a month or so back.  The CT of his lungs was much improved from the last one so this is good news.  Dad has been drinking lots and lots of water because of all the medications he is having to take which can be toxic to his kidneys.  Dr. Andersson was concerned with some of Dad's kidney lab values and wanted to have Dad stay in Houston Tuesday to get infused with some IV fluids to get better hydrated and then double check his kidney values on Wednesday.  They also saw the rheumatologist on Monday and they ordered an MRI of Dad's ankles in order to determine the source of the pain that Dad has been having in his ankles recently.  On Tuesday evening when they were in the waiting room for Dad's second MRI of his ankle Dad spiked a fever and began having chills.  They decided it was best to head on down to the ER to start some treatment for his fever.  The doctors have Dad on a couple of different antibiotics as well as an antifungal and an antiviral.  They stayed down in the ER all night last night and thru the day today and are still down there at this moment...it is really busy in the hospital!!!  His fever has spiked a couple of times during the day but has been okay since about 4 this afternoon.  While they have been waiting to get a room they went ahead and performed another MRI on Dad's other ankle.  They later found out that Dad has a condition of the bones called avascular necrosis in his ankles.  This condition causes the blood vessels that supply the bone tissue to not be able to supply blood to the tissue and it starts to decay and degenerate. This condition can be caused by many things but in Dad's case was caused by the high doses of steroids he was on before and after transplant.  Unfortunately, the condition is irreversible.  Hopefully they will be able to manage this condition with physical therapy/walking/foot aids that can take some of the weight off of Dad's ankles and prevent further degeneration of the bone and joints.  I will try to keep everyone posted on any new news of Dad's condition.
          Also, I would like to update everyone about Dean's dad, my Grandpa.  As you might have read, Dean's Dad had a mild heart attack about a month ago.  He was recuperating from that and about a week ago had what he thought was another heart attack but found out was a diseased gall bladder that was causing him a lot of pain and also putting stress on on his heart.  He was scheduled to have his gallbladder removed this Friday and had met with surgeon on Monday afternoon to talk about the surgery.  On Tuesday morning while eating breakfast with family, Dean's dad started having chest pain again.  He couldn't tell if he was having chest pain from his gallbladder or his heart but it was bad enough they had to call 911 and he was taken by ambulance to the hospital.  They drew blood to determine whether his pain was from his heart or his gallbladder and found out later on that day that he had suffered another mild heart attack.  He is kind of between a rock and a hard place because he needs to have his gallbladder removed but his cardiologist wants him to wait at least 2 weeks to let his heart recover from this latest heart attack before undergoing surgery.  Also, they will have to take him off of one of his main heart medications, Plavix, because it is a blood thinner and can complicate surgical operations.  The doctors think that the when the gallbladder is causing him pain that this is raising his blood pressure and heart rate and putting stress on his heart which is already in a precarious condition to begin with.  Hopefully he may be able to go home by Friday if he is having no more chest pain and is tolerating eating well.
Please keep both of them in your prayers!!!!

Jerry