Good Counts, Bad Hip

Adrienne saw the BMT doctor today. Her blood counts are better than ever and she is feeling great. There is no sign of graft-vs-host-disease. Being off chemo for three weeks does wonders. She isn't needing naps or falling asleep early in the evening like she has for the last few months. She looks wonderful and healthy. Thankfully, the doctor is unable to feel any nodes in her neck.

Adrienne also saw an orthopedist today who specializes in hips. He was able to explain her scans and pain to us in detail. When he pointed out the problem on the MRI, it was obvious. Adrienne does indeed have avascular necrosis, also known as osteonecrosis. From Adrienne's standpoint, they are the same thing: she has dead bone in the femoral head, the top of the large leg bone. Her AVN is between stage 1 and 2, a good time to catch it. The solution is a procedure called a "core decompression." Essentially, they drill an 8 mm hole from the side into the femoral head in order to relieve the pressure. The procedure is effective about 75% of the time to prevent further degeneration and reheal the bone. It sounds awful but isn't so bad compared to other things Adrienne has been through. The toughest part is 6 weeks on crutches following the procedure. Since the AVN appears to be progressing slowly, Adrienne will have the surgery in December after her first semester at college.

Speaking of which...we finally finished buying all the bits and pieces Adrienne needs for her dorm. She often mentions another item she would like to have but, since there isn't any more room in the car, it will have to wait until we get there. There are less than two weeks until we leave for CMC on August 23rd, after her DLI on the 22nd. Talk about cutting it close.

Our good friend Jaclyn Masieczek passed away on Tuesday at the age of 27 after a 10 year battle with Hodgkin's Disease. We met Jaclyn through the Internet last January, after Adrienne relapsed, and became fast friends. We'll miss her greatly. We miss her already.