Off Medication

Things have been so uneventful with Andrew's recovery that we have been really bad about posting updates for people who followed his recovery through this blog. The update is that he is basically done with everything at this point. His blood count numbers stayed at consistent levels as they weened him off of medication, and about a month ago they took him off of the little bit of medicine he was still taking. He had a blood count and doctor's visit three weeks after they took him off medication, and everything looked good. Now he doesn't have to go in for a checkup for two months, and they will space out the appointments even more if things look ok at that visit. They consider the aplastic anemia to be in full remission, and the doctors are more checking for any signs of reoccurence or for any side effects from the medication. Other than that, it looks like he is done with this. Hopefully there is nothing else to write about and this is the last post. We want to thank everyone who helped us through this the past couple of years, and anyone who kept up with his progress through these posts. It has really meant a lot to our entire family.

Operation Done

We just left the operating room after Andrew's bone marrow biopsy. All went well, and , after his regular breathing treatment, we will head home. During the procedure, Andrew lost his first tooth(it has been loose since Monday). When he woke up, he was given his tooth, along with a jar full of money from the "hospital tooth fairy".

Five and Counting

There has been nothing but good news with the last five blood draws for Andrew. At each one, Andrew's blood counts have been good enough to reduce his medication level again. He has gone from 1.2mL a day to .7mL in this time.

He goes in again March 16 for another blood draw. That day they are also going to do a bone marrow biopsy so they can check how his marrow has progressed since they started this therapy almost two years ago. They are going to put him under to do the procedure, but it shouldn't be a big deal. We will keep everyone posted.