View Single Post
  #3  
Old Wed Feb 2, 2011, 03:20 PM
lauras lauras is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Fairfax, VA
Posts: 9
Hi Cheri-

Thanks for responding! I see you are from Jersey, as is Dad and my entire family. Good people. Okay, here goes nothing.

During Dad's annual physical in 2006 they noticed his platelets were below the 140 K mark and he went for bloodwork every 2 months. Long story short in May of 2007 he went golfing and he had to depart early because he was so out of breath and he felt like he had never felt before. He woke up the next morning with an enormous bruise on his arm. We took him to the ER and his platelets were under 10 K. Thus the beginning of bone marrow biopsies, prednisone, pneumonia (that almost took his life last summer...was a fungal pneumonia and was amazing he recovered), IV/IG treatments, platelet and blood transfusions, John Hopkins, National Institute of Health, you name it....he was diagnosed with MDS/MPD. So he's been ill for sometime, as you know, there are bad days and better days.

His energy is so low, his HGB is typically under 8 and Procrit has been helping, he stopped Procrit and hopefully will be receiving that shot again soon. His white blood cells remain pretty constant in the 70's. He has a chronic cough, which they say has nothing to do with his disease, but we seem to think it does.

He is basically at a crossroads I feel. He can't have a transplant because of his age. He has stage 4 MDS, which I know is not good. There has to be something that can help me. I keep reading about Vidaza. Your husband I believe had success with it Cheri?

If anybody could tell us anything...we feel like we have done so much for him and there has to be something else that we can do for him. I kept telling him to join this forum, but he hasn't, so I decided to in lieu of him.

I don't have time to re-read this (2 small children running around!), but hopefully I didn't miss anything pertinent and covered just about everything. I feel like we've been through so much more than the few sentences I typed, but I don't know. Thanks for listening and I appreciate and look forward to reading some replies!

Laura
__________________
Laura, father diagnosed with MDS/MPD in 2006; IV/IG monthly treatments
Reply With Quote