YEP it's GVHD

Tyler had an appointment at U of M today and we were not suprised when they told us he has gvhd on his shoulders, arms,back and chest. Possibly some on his face. Of course it is still in his mouth and also in his eyes. Now the trick is to keep it under control! Dr Yanik described it as balancing on a balance beam. Lean too much to the right (no gvhd) hodgkins would probably come back, too much to the left and gvhd could be life threatening, we want him right in the middle!Of course they don't wish for gvhd but they have found that chronic gvhd may ward off lymphoma from returning. We were told that hodgkins can come back, generally in 6 to 12 months, and maybe that is what is going on and maybe that is why this is really kicking in because it see's it as an intruder. Problem is it see's other cells as enemies also.
Anyways he is feeling ok, just some dry mouth,eyes and skin is dark and patchy. He has steroids by mouth and to put on his skin and some to rub on his lips and inside his mouth. They have increased his Tacro (anti-rejection) meds and magnesium. We go back on next Tuesday and they want to check his lungs.
I want to thank everyone for checking in.
I also want to thank all the doctors,nurses,technicians etc,etc,etc, at Toledo,Sylvania and Ann Arbor for always taking good care of Tyler!

Here is a web site that shows some of what gvhd can look like etc.

http://www.marrow.org/PHYSICIAN/Patient_Care_Post_Tx/PDF/QuickRefGuidelines_cGVHD__screening_Part_II.pdf

Kelly