update on Mom - Tue. 8/5

Sorry it has been so long...Wed. was rather busy and eventful, and then I flew home to Maine on Thu., went to my oncologist there in Maine on Fri. (all is good with me), as they let me do that visit there instead of at Dartmouth. My next doctor visit will be at Dartmouth on Mon. Aug. 11, where I'll see both the transplant doc and the infectious disease guy, who's watching my lungs. No problems there - slow but steady progress in my breathing capacity.
As far as Mom goes, her biopsy results were inconclusive, because they did not get a good enough sample. There just wasn't any liquid marrow where and when they drilled. They decided to go ahead and start her on daily injections of Neupogen, which stimulates white blood cell production. In the meantime, they did an echocardiogram (results OK) and a full body CT scan, which showed that the pneumonia is progressing. Without any white blood cells to speak of, the antibiotics they are giving her don't have much to work with (they only help with an infection; they can't do the "heavy lifting" of the healing work themselves), and there's nothing further to give her to help fight the infection. As far as the heart goes, there does appear to be some damage, and they have maxed out on the heart drugs she's getting right now. That means that when and if she goes into an arrythmeia (irregular heartbeat), they have no way to correct that except for using "the paddles" or manual chest compressions, which may not be enough to do the job. Dad and the doctors have decided tonight to wait until Friday to see if her white blood cells begin to climb, and if not, they will stop the Neupogen on Friday, give it the weekend to clear from her system, and then perform another bone marrow biopsy next Monday. We hope to find out whether the leukemia is still present in her bone marrow or not, as that will help give guidance to treatment decisions moving forward. We really don't have any good idea whether the cancer is still present or not, so there's no good way for the doctors to give any kind of prognosis, should the counts return and the infections begin to resolve themselves.
On a different note, it appears that my grandmother (Mom's mother), who is an 83 year old Alzheimer's patient in a nursing home near my parents, has developed fluid on her lungs today, and is being given oxygen tonight at the nursing home.
Please pray for God's healing and sustaining hand to be upon both Mom and Mom Mom (that's what we call her), for wisdom for the doctors involved and for Dad as he makes decisions for both Mom and Mom Mom, and for grace and strength for the entire family. Thank you for continuing to faithfully lift us all up before the throne of Grace in this "time of need"!