Updates on Landen

Hello! Thank you for visiting our blog. With everything going on we have not been able to keep the blog updated. If you are interested in updates on Landen please like his facebook page, Landen's Story.

Transplant - Day Ninety (+73)

Landen was discharged from the hospital last Tuesday. While it was extremely hard to be back in the hospital we knew it was best for Landen. Thankfully it was a short stay. He has felt better and better each day since! His appetite continues to improve and he is eating more and more. We're SO thankful!

The results from the endoscopy didn't look bad at all. It revealed some inflammation in his stomach which was probably some type of virus. It also appears he has a very mild case of GVH. While this is not what we wanted to hear we are thankful and encouraged that it is barely there and it was caught early. They are treating it with a steroid for several days and will then reevaluate and go from there. The pathologist won't even call it GVH but in clinic they have other signs and symptoms to go by. The only other symptom is the levels of the viruses he's been dealing with had increased. This leads them to believe GVH is the cause of that. Hopefully, he won't have to take the steroid long. The fact that he started feeling better before he started the steroid is very encouraging! Please pray for the GVH to be eliminated and for Landen to continue to feel better. It seems he is getting back on track and headed in the right direction! Praise the Lord!

Transplant - Day Eighty-three (+66)

Things have slightly improved for Landen, despite some continued abdominal pain and nausea. He has not had any vomiting or diarrhea since Saturday evening. He has felt pretty good today and was asking to eat but he couldn't eat before his endoscopy. They did the endoscopy around 2 and thankfully things went well. The doctor said he bled a little more than normal but said it wasn't alarming since his platelets were a little low. He notified the BMT team and they will keep an eye on it. The doctor also said everything appeared normal but he did take biopsies to make sure. Graft vs. Host (GVH) disease is a possibility so that is why they are taking this seriously. It will be a few days before we get the pathology results. We are very encouraged by the initial results of the endoscopy and the fact that Landen's symptoms seem to be improving. Please keep praying for good results and for Landen to feel better.  The main thing now is making sure he is starting to eat and drink again and that he can take his medicines without any issues. Thank you for praying!!

Transplant - Day Eighty-two (+65)

Unfortunately Landen has been admitted to the hospital again. :-( At clinic on Friday we discussed Landen's decreased appetite since it has gradually gotten worse. The plan was to see how he did over the weekend and possibly do an endoscopy on Tuesday if things weren't any better. Thankfully Landen's blood work revealed that the adenovirus was detectable but not measurable. The BK virus is steadily declining and he is still all donor cells. We are so thankful for this good news but we started getting worried about him not eating.  Friday night he started having loose stools and he vomited twice Saturday morning. We called his doctor and he said Landen needed to come to the hospital to be observed so that they can hopefully figure out what's going on. They haven't been able to do a stool culture because the loose stools have subsided, thankfully. The only thing that has come up with his blood work is the need for a blood transfusion, which he got last night. So far things are going well today. He has eaten a little but he says he doesn't feel good. They moved the endoscopy to tomorrow. Please pray that Landen will start feeling better, for good results from the endoscopy, and that nothing serious is going on. We pray this is just a short bump in the road and that Landen can get back on track soon. They've told us it is very common for transplant patients to have to go back in the hospital. While we expected this at some point it doesn't make this easy. It is SO hard being back here for all of us but ultimately we want what is best for Landen and we want him feeling better. We are so thankful for Landen's doctors and how they are giving him the best care possible. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers! We are so grateful for the tremendous amount of support we have received. It means more than you know!

Transplant-Day Seventy-eight (+61)

I am incredibly excited to post that Landen has been home for one week already! He got to come home last Wednesday, August 2nd, after 10 weeks in Charlotte. He has loved being home and so have we! It is has been a huge adjustment though but a very welcome and wonderful adjustment for sure!

We are so thankful for our church family that helped prepare our home for Landen's arrival. They cleaned our house and decorated inside and outside. Their thoughtfulness made coming home even more special!

It's not been as scary to be home and far from the hospital as I thought it would be. I think the gradual process to get here helped or maybe it's the fact that things are so busy I don't have time to think about it. Landen is doing well! He still has to go to clinic three times a week so that has been the biggest adjustment now that we are driving back and forth but we'd much rather do that than to not be home. It takes up a large part of our day though. It takes around 6 hours from the time we leave to when we get back home. Some days are longer like today when he also needs to get IVIg in additon to the cidofovir treatment. He's still really tired and has not been as active as I thought he would be now that he's home. His appetite has not been great lately but these things are still expected. His body is still going through so much. He is making progress though and we couldn't be more thankful! The last update I got on the viruses which was Monday revealed the viruses are still detectable but certainly trending down which is great news!! Today makes two months since his transplant!