Jen Update - August 1

Hey everyone....more Jen news....she was released from the hospital last Tuesday, and went down to the house in Woodbridge. She had appointments on Thursday and Saturday. Saturday, her platelet numbers were low, so they dumped two bags in her. I continued to move our belongings down while she was at the hospital on Saturday (and our cats!), and then met up with her and spent the night at the house. She continued to feel crappy on Sunday, although it didn't seem too out of the ordinary, as she has been plagued by fatigue. She started to experience pain and blood in her urine that night, with the symptoms continuing into Monday. The docs at Hopkins decided she should come in so they could check her out. Her platelet numbers had plummeted once again after only two days, and she was running a fever, so they decided to admit her again. They think she has a UTI, explaining the fever and blood, although they don't really know why there is so much bleeding. The sliver of good news is that the last DLI procedure only had 7 days before her white blood cells exploded again, requiring more chemo. This DLI procedure is going on 11 days, and the white counts are staying down. Let's hope this is a positive sign. Hopefully this will be a short stay......also, if anyone is able to possibly come spend some time with Jen, I would greatly appreciate it. Having to work so we have insurance means I don't get to be there for her as much as I would like. Hope everyone who reads this site is doing well. Keep the prayers coming!

Jeremy

July 18th

Hey everyone....hope you are surviving the heat sweeping the country right now.....we're dying up here in DC (the concrete jungle).....just a quick update on Jen. She underwent a bone marrow biopsy this past Friday, the results of which said that her marrow is "clean" of leukemia for the moment. Dr. Levis goes before the transplant committee today to argue for another DLI procedure, hopefully for this Friday. Jen is feeling pretty good right now...I think she is looking forward to getting out of Hopkins soon (keep your fingers crossed!) As most of you know, Jen's friends Jill and Heather have set up a website to help keep people updated....the URL is www.jenniferkbaker.com We are slowly getting moved into my aunt and uncle's house due to Marymount giving Jen a July 31st deadline to return to work or be let go of....obviously that isn't real realistic, so we are preparing to move on. Our current apartment is a wreck, making Jen's possible return home a little more complicated. If anyone feels up to a road trip, I would love any help I could get in moving. I plan on moving every weekend this month, and possibly renting a moving truck for the weekend of August 5th. The house we're moving into has plenty of room, so please feel free to come visit Jen once she is home. Jen is posting her own updates on the website, so check it out. Thanks to everyone who has posted with the guestbook feature. I know Jen loves hearing from everyone.....will be back with another update soon....

Jeremy