Stump. The. Doctor!!
Our first contestant is Brenda! Brenda is Carin's sassy sibling and
also her bone marrow donor. Brenda came down to the hospital for
bloodwork and other assorted testing, getting ready for the
Blast O'Brenda Booster™ scheduled for March 2nd.
Well, Brenda - you passed your tests with flying colors! We are sorry,
but you did not Stump.The.Doctor.
However, we will be giving you this huge bruise on your arm as a
parting gift.
Our next contestant is Colleen! Colleen is Carin's creative, cheerleading
sister! Colleen got ready for Blast O'Brenda Booster™ day by making
some super t-shirts. Here is what they look like!
Why yes, that is Brenda with a pair of Granny Panties on her head, and a pair of
chicken feet on the back of the shirt. Don't ask - the Schaufele sisters are a bit
wacky.
Well, Colleen - you really cheered everyone up! It's always good to wear a uniform
when getting a procedure done. However, you did not Stump.The.Doctor.
You can have a t-shirt with chicken feet on it as your parting gift.
Our third contestant is Carin. Carin had a bone marrow transplant done in May.
Over the summer, she developed GVHD (graft vs host disease) of the gut and was
put on a mild steroid specifically designed for GI issues, and it worked great.
In October, her platelet count started to fall bit by bit. In December, she was
put on Predisone in hopes of slowing down the platelet decline.
In the meantime, she gets tested every month to see how much of her marrow is
Brenda's and how much is left of her own. In October, November and December
the graft was 98% and over.
In January, the graft fell to 91%. But Carin, you have not Stumped.The.Doctor.
They know this is graft failure, and a Blast O'Brenda Booster™ will fix it.
In the meantime, the doctor immediatly discontinued use of all steroids and
took another graft test.
That test just came back. Graft failure would mean that the graft percentage
would go down. Instead, the graft was back up to 98%.
Folks - we have a winner!
Carin - you have managed to Stump.The.Doctor!!! He now knows that the
steroids were causing the graft failure, but is not sure why. And is still not sure
what to do about the falling platelet numbers.
BOBB™ will get things going, but will probably cause an increase in GVHD
The only way to treat GVHD is with steroids
Steroids cause graft failure
So BOBB™ has been temporarily postponed while they do another graft
test and a "wait and see" to watch the blood counts and the GVHD.
Carin - you have won a fabulous prize - you will get platelet transfusions
at least once a week until they figure this out! Also - you will feel tired
and crappy and once again, you have Stumped.The.Doctor. He thinks its
from the GVHD but is not 100% sure. A double winner today!
For your second Stumping of the Doctor, and because your mother-in-law and
super advocate, Charlotte, asked for it, you will be getting some IV saline that might make
you feel better! Your friend, IVY will be coming to visit you for a bit!
Thanks for playing the game! And thank you to our sponsors, IV Poles of America ©
and Chicken Feet T-Shirts © for allowing us to have all three contestants on our show!
