Help Vinay & Sameer

I realize that I have not written to you for almost a month now and felt that it is time for another update.

We have been watching Sameer improving and recovering gradually. His blood counts are now close to normal. He is taking quite a few medicines some of which affect magnesium, liver enzyme and some other levels. He is getting magnesium as intravenously through the Hickman line which is still installed in his body. His medical team is adjusting medication and dosage to manage all the pertinent blood levels. He is being monitored closely and gets a complete blood work done twice a week. As he mentioned in his blog on www.helpsameer.org his medical team does not find him too interesting and we pray that it stays that way!

He is starting to show a little chin stubble and also a moustache. He is likely to have a goatee pretty soon unless he shaves it off as this baby is growing up really fast! He has had a deep tan from the chemotherapy and radiation treatments. I am noticing that the tan is getting somewhat lighter and his skin is showing signs of returning to its normal color. I remember reading somewhere or hearing in one of Swami Bhaskaranandji’s lectures that all the cells in the body (except in the brain) get replaced every 3-4 months. This correlates with the close monitoring for 100 days from the transplant by the transplant team. After that the monitoring is handed off to a hematologist/oncologist.

We were concerned about the Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD). There might have been some small signs of it but with God’s grace and the good medical team, we have not seen any major issues related to it. We have to keep a watch for it since GVHD can strike even after a year or more of the transplant. Sameer has to be close to a transplant center for a year or so because if there are any symptoms of GVHD, they need immediate attention.

We keep doing our best as we move through different phases of Sameer’s recovery. We keep praying for an uncomplicated recovery and so far God has been answering our prayers. We hope that the rest of his recovery will remain uncomplicated as well and he will be back to his normal or even better than his normal.

Sameer and Reena are planning to move back to San Francisco sometime in January. It has been very nice to have both of them in Seattle. Reena is growing fond of Seattle with special fondness for views of the mountains and particularly Mount Rainier http://search.live.com/images/results.aspx?q=mount+rainier&mkt=en-us. It is not hard to see why so many people fall under the spell of what is locally known as the Rainier effect! I am sure that they will be back here in Seattle many more times but under better circumstances.

With Best Wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving and Everything Else,

Kumar Bhatia