A Bump in the Road

John 16:33
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

We have been very thankful for all the miracles we have experienced during Tammy's recovery. It has gone so smoothly, that even the smallest obstacle seems major. We hope that it the case this time, and that the obstacle before us is minor in the big picture.

Tammy still goes in to the clinic for blood tests every other week. Once a month, she meets with a doctor to review the blood tests and make sure the recovery is on schedule. Recently, they noticed that the results of her liver function test were out of whack. Since they tapered her off the anti-rejection medicine, the levels have gone up rapidly.

The first treatment was to put her back on the medicine, but that has only shown marginal improvement. So next Wednesday morning she will have liver biopsy to determine the cause of the problem. There are three likely scenarios. It may be a reaction to one of the medicines. It may be an elevated iron level. Most likely, it is some graft-vs-host disease (GVHD). The GVHD is a form of rejection. Unlike most organ transplants, where the recipient's body rejects the new organ, a bone-marrow transplant recipient runs the risk of the new bone marrow rejecting existing organs.

Please pray that this is an easily repaired problem. Pray for peace for our family as we wait for the results. Mostly, please pray that God can be glorified by the way we deal with the situation.