Dear Family & Friends,

We got great news yesterday. Barry will be released home next week. It’s kind of like being let out of jail. He has passed the danger zone of Acute Graft vs. Host Disease (known to us as GVHD) and will no longer be seen in the Cancer Center, but will have regular clinic appointments with Dr. Miklos, his BMT doc, whom we have grown to love and respect.

So after Saturday, Feb. 3, we will be home for good. Barry will be mostly off of his low-microbial diet. No sushi, no salad bars (that’s not a hard one), no rare meat, and a few other restrictions. The hardest thing will be no touching. He will be able to see (healthy only) people, in small numbers (no crowd situations) but since he is still at risk for infections, no hugging or hand-shaking. I feel like I should make him a sign to hang around his neck saying DO NOT TOUCH.

He has been posting quite a lot lately to his site, www.agauchepress.com, so you can read his take on all of this.

One of the most interesting phenomena of the transplant process is all of the differing information and instructions we have received.

You must live close by – “yes” (Dr. Miklos)
“San Francisco is in the safe zone” (lots of other Stanford BMT staff)

Alcohol – “a glass of wine from time to time is good” (Dr. Miklos)
“no alcohol at all because it could cause liver damage” (Cancer Center physicians’ assistant)

Airline Travel – “not for a year” (Dr. Miklos)
“after six months” (218 page transplant binder and Cancer Center physicians’ assistant)

Hot Tub – “no” (Dr. Miklos)
“as long as you don’t put your head in” (Cancer Center physicians’ assistant)

Since Dr. Miklos was right on the first one, we are following his orders/instructions almost completely. What’s the point of taking chances? Barry will not be in the clear for a year, and we want to make sure he has no more life-threatening infections (he’s had two and a possibility of a third so far) and does not get Chronic GVHD.

We are really looking forward to seeing family and friends once again. If you live far away, consider a visit. If you live close by, please call and we can make a low-key date.

Lots of love,

Bonnie