Day +16 (Top ten ...)

1. The elevated counts regarding Hunter's liver are slowing decreasing. This is good news.

2. The doctors think Hunter might have Graft Versus Host Disease of the gut in addition to his liver. This can be managed through steroid therapy or other immunosuppressant drugs.

3. Hunter has not had a temperature since beginning prednisone therapy. He will have twice weekly labs to check for infections because steroids can mask a fever.

4. The doctors minimally lowered Hunter's Lasix drip to rest his kidneys, even though there is currently no issue with them. They have been working overtime the past few days and deserve a break.

5. Hunter is near engraftment. His ANC (based on the white blood cell count of his new immune system) was 700 today. The doctors consider engraftment to be two consecutive days above 500. This is encouraging, however this particular count fluctuates daily and could dip before going back up.

6. During rounds this morning Hunter's Attending Physician said, "We're not out of the woods yet but things seem to be moving in the right direction."

7. Hunter slept uninterrupted through the night and has been awake for a total of two hours today. He played games, read books and watched Toy Story.

8. We are happy to be back in the transplant unit. However, we lost our spacious suite and are now in a "closet" overlooking the psychiatric ward playground. We've certainly had an eyeful so far.

9. Thank you to Grandma Marcia for holding down the blog during a stressful time.

10. Thank you for all of your comments, texts, emails, Facebook messages, phone calls, voicemails, letters and care packages. We are extremely appreciative of the constant support.