Where We Go From Here

Here is the basic schedule, or at least as much as we know, for the next few weeks as we transition the treatment from the hospital to home.

Andrew will still be on a steroid treatment and taking cyclosporine at home. The steroid treatment will last about six weeks, four weeks at treatment levels, then weening him off for two weeks. He will take cyclosporine for months to come. These are to reduce and regulate the T-cells in his body. The T-cells are the first line of defense in the body, and they believe these are contributing to attacking his marrow. The steroids also help to reduce the side effects from the Thymoglobulin, called serum sickness, that can last for two to four weeks after the treatment.

On top of those medications, Andrew is on an extensive antibiotic regimen to help fight against viruses he might get in the future. Since the T-cells are suspended, his body needs help against all type of bacteria and viruses. Also, he will be taking a blood pressure medication since one of the side effects of the steroids is high blood pressure. There are probably other medications as well, and others may be added(for instance, there is a remote chance he may need insulin).

We will be at the hospital Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to start, then probably reducing to twice a week in the future. We will start at U of M hospital, but as things settle down we may go to Beaumont when he only needs blood count checks.

At the hospital, blood and platelet transfusions are always possible any time we go in. That will be determined by his blood count that day. Other procedures and infusions are going to happen on these visits as well. We don't yet know what those will be or how often they will be.

This Friday, we meet with a couple of doctors who have concentrated their studies on aplastic anemia, and will give us some more details about the rest of this process.

Long term, they don't expect to see any results for at least two months, it will probably be more like three, and it could be several months after that to see any real progress. That means that it could be a while before we know whether this treatment is going to work or not, and whether we have to move on to a bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor. The recovery process is much slower for the immunosuppressive therapy than for a transplant.

We will send out a post later in the day regarding home life, and life in general, for our family in the coming months.