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We are back home and the news is very much a mixed deal. On the good news front---they have ruled out TB, fungal infections, pneumonia and several other lung issues. While they don't have the lung pathology results back yet so cancer is not ruled out, what they do have on Sandi is good as it does not show anything.

As to the bad news---they now believe it is pneumonitis which is basically a serious irritation of the lungs. The bronchial sacs in the lungs get massively inflamed, loose elasticity, and you can't breathe. You can read about here at Mayo http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pneumonitis/DS00962  and there are other sites to look at if you are interested. It is caused by chemotherapy, radiation, and in other ways. While Sandi did not have radiation, she has had chemotherapy and lots of it. The theory is that the heavy chemo she got at Mayo to set things up for her stem cell transplant is what caused this now.

Going forward, she is on some new drugs as of today and is in isolation lock down to protect her. Not that she has the strength to go anywhere anyway she is now forbidden in no uncertain terms from going anywhere except for the hospital to see the doctors. The blood count numbers look a little better than they did on Wednesday when they sent her home from the hospital, but they are nowhere near to where she needs to be. She is to stay on 5 liters of air per minute and stay away from everyone. On Monday around noon we go back for more blood work and a doctor's visit. They are hoping the new meds, which they started by injection and she will continue in pill form, along with everything else she is doing medicine wise will help her. Considering she is now up to 23 drugs per day, not counting the vitamin supplements she has to take, one hopes the pills are doing something right.

Long term is the big unknown right now. The current belief is that it will be months before her lungs will recover enough that they can begin to wean her off the oxygen. This assumes this even happens and this assumes that her ongoing diabetes does not prevent the lungs from healing. The damage could be permanent and if so she would be oxygen dependent the rest of her life. We just won't know for a very long time.

It is one very scary deal....