Pros, Cons & Opportunities for Strength

Dr Wali came to see me this morning with reasonably good news:

Before steroid

• I will not need a biopsy
• Graft rejection has been confirmed by improved kidney function and improved Prograf level after one treatment of rejection-attacking Solu-Medrol/steroid
• I will need a total of 3 Solu-Medrol/steroid treatments(final one tomorrow) to treat existing rejection
• Cell cept(drug causing decrease in WBC via bone marrow suppression) is still necessary, but will be dosed at half of my current dosage
• Bactrim(antibiotic that can also decrease WBC) has been replaced by another antibiotic
• Finally: plan is to go home on Sunday after 3rd treatment!

After steroid

I will need to be continuously monitored for bone marrow suppression. The replacement antibiotic is liquid only and tastes like the nasty orange medicine my mom used to give me as a kid. My prednisone steroid treatment will be increased again and this means moon face swelling and weight gain.

I am concerned that monitoring of my lab results was getting spaced out further than I am comfortable with. I will discuss my transplant team keeping closer tabs on my lab work. I understand there are plenty of red flags to look for on my lab work and I can be especially demanding if the situation calls for it.

All in all, a good outcome. :)
Pros definitely outweigh the cons, and everything is completely doable. I'm up for the future.

Another opportunity to be, as my blog title implies, Strong Like Water.