When I woke up this morning, I'll be honest in saying that I wasn't looking forward to spending Thanksgiving here at the hospital. Kristin's day started off with yet another unit of platlets, a morning course of IV antibiotics, a couple different types of nausea medication, followed by the morning dose of her oral chemotherapy treating her FLT3 mutation. In other words, the day was shaping up to pretty much suck. Needing a change of scenery, we made plans to explore the hospital as soon as she was disconnected. Before we had a chance to get out of the room, Kristin's doctor came by on her daily rounds. With most of the hospital in a holiday routine, we were not expecting any news beyond the regular daily discussion. However, that was not the case. As you know from my last update, Kristin underwent a bone marrow biopsy procedure on Tuesday. While there are still more results pending, we did get an unexpected and very significant result.

NO LUKEMIA BLAST CELLS PRESENT IN KRISTIN'S BONE MARROW !!!

What this means for Kristin is that she will NOT need an additional course of chemotherapy during this hospital stay. The pending results will not change this outcome, as they are primarily used to help determine her consolidation plan (future treatment plan). She still has to complete the treatment for her FLT3 mutation which will continue for the next 6 days. After that, her bone marrow will begin to produce new cells and she will be on the road to release. After her blood counts are moving towards the normal range, they will take her off the anti-viral and anti-biotics and monitor her for a few more days. If her counts continue to improve, she can expect be home by around December 11-14.

How's that for something to be thankful for on Thanksgiving! and as promised, I've attached a photo of Kristin rocking her new hairdo excited to see the light at the end of the tunnel.