Day 43 - April 11, 2011

12:00PM - Kristine has finished her IV chemo treatment, but is not being released from the hospital today as she had hoped.  The doctor would like to continue to monitor her as she completes her last 3 days of the Sorafenib "chemo" pill.  It's not actually an oral chemotherapy treatment as we had thought.  It's an experimental drug that is not yet approved for AML, but is being used to help keep the cancer cells from spreading while Kristine awaits a transplant.  She is experiencing some side effects that need to be closely monitored.  Her blood pressure is high, she has redness on her head, face and hands, her head is very tender, and she has some blisters on her hands.  Her mouth is also becoming sore.  We hope that it's not the mouth sores we've heard about which are extremely painful.  So painful that patients are not able to even drink water.  Please pray that Kristine does not develop these mouth sores.

My sisters and I are still awaiting receipt of our kits to get tested to see if any of us are a match for Kristine.  According to UCLA, the kits cost about $2000 each, so they won't FedEx them out until they receive approval from Kristine's insurance company.  It's frustrating to say the least.  We really want to get tested ASAP so that we know if one of us is a match.  Then Kristine can be admitted to UCLA for the transplant as soon as she is back in remission.  However, let me back track, we are still waiting to hear from UCLA to see if the board approved her case.  Maybe we'll get some answers tomorrow.

9:00PM - I just spoke with Kristine again via Skype.  The rash has spread to the rest of her body and she aches all over.  Her head and face are swollen.  The nurse has been instructed to give her something for the rash, so hopefully her side effects will subside.  

That's all for today.  Please continue to pray for Kristine's well being and send her your positive thoughts.  I haven't seen her smile for two days now.  :(