Back in the hospital

My dear Joseph is back in the hospital. This morning, we were preparing to leave for Joe's semi-weekly appointment at the BMT office. Before we left, we received a phone call. It turns out that Joe's blood draw from Friday showed that he tested positive for CMV. Joe would need to be admitted. The frustrating part is that Joe has been feeling great, and looking great. So even though it is very important that he gets treated before the CMV gets out of control, it feels like he is going into the hospital for no reason. The fact that Joe is feeling great is also a blessing. Being positive for CMV post-transplant can become very scary. But thus far, Joe has been asymptomatic. The positive result is most likely caused by reactivation of the virus.

The treatment for Joe will be aggressive. He'll probably be in the hospital for at least a week. Joe will be getting IV Ganciclovir every 12 hours, that will run for an hour. This will happen for at least four days. After this, Joe will get a dose once every 24 hours. Even after Joe tests negative for CMV, he will continue to receive Ganciclovir for another two to three more weeks. By that time, Joe should be discharged to short stay. But this will mean we'll be back to our former routine of going to the hospital every single day. If this is what it takes to make sure that Joe is okay, than so be it!

The wonderful thing is that Joe remains positive and in good spirits. He is a trooper, he is! It's definitely not by choice, but the hospital is now a second home for Joe. Sometimes we call it the slammer, sometimes we call it a hotel. Depends what kind of mood we are in. :) Joe is well prepared for this stay, with his PSP, ipod nano, books, and sudoku.

No worries. Joe is going to be just fine. God has blessed us through every scary bit of this journey, and this will be no different. Thank you for all of your prayers!