At today’s appointment we received the results from Araeya’s 60 day post-transplant labs. Here are those results:

• CD19 (B cells) are 97% donor cells
  • B cells are a type of white blood cell that play a crucial role in the immune system by producing antibodies to fight infections. They help identify and neutralize harmful pathogens like viruses and bacteria, and some B cells also remember these pathogens for faster responses in the future.
• CD56 (NK cells) are 98% donor cells
  • NK cells, or natural killer cells, are a type of white blood cell that plays a crucial role in the immune system by identifying and destroying infected or cancerous cells. They are part of the innate immune response and can act quickly to eliminate threats without needing prior exposure to them.
• CD3 (T cells) are 50% donor cells
  • T cells are a type of white blood cell that plays a crucial role in the immune system by helping to fight infections and diseases. They are primarily responsible for recognizing and attacking infected or abnormal cells in the body.
• CD33 (Myeloid cells) are 100% donor cells
  • Myeloid cells play a crucial role in the innate immune system, acting as a first line of defense against infections and contributing to inflammation and tissue repair.
• CD4 cell count: 47 (normal range is 500-2000)
  • This form of T cells is the messenger. It recognizes a potential infection and notifies the other cells to attack it.
    

What does this all mean?

The good news: Overall, her transplant is a success! Her cells are now reproducing using the donor cells DNA. Additionally, they are transforming/morphing into the new cell types as expected. More simply put, the hard restart has worked and systems are now starting to come back online and perform like they should.

The “but”: Rae’s CD4 cell count is still low. This means that while she’s starting to have the ability to fight infections, she does not have enough of the T cells needed to send the message to activate her immune system. For us old enough to remember, this is the painfully slow dial-up internet from our childhood as you waited for photos or music to download a few pixels/bytes at a time. In other worlds, her immune system may not get the message soon enough to fight before the infection takes over.

So now what?

We wait. New labs will be drawn at day 100 post-transplant. Given how well her 60 day labs look, they fully expect to see continued positive growth/change. Hopefully this will lead to greatly reduced restrictions. For now, Rae can occasionally go out to uncrowded locations/outside, but will need to practice social distancing, wear a mask, etc. Please do not be offended if you see her out and she keeps her distance. She is simply protecting herself from getting sick, which would drastically set her recovery back. We are currently trying to find that perfect balance of letting her enjoy life in the moment, and keeping her healthy enough to be able to recover enough to be off all restrictions and get back to a “normal” life.

Prayer needs:

• Continued positive recovery
• Protection while going out in public
  • Rae can go to church Wednesday nights, go to Women’s retreat, and can even go to prom. She just needs to distance as much as possible, and wear a mask. This will be difficult for her, and create a high risk of getting sick.

As always, thank you for your continued support and prayers!! If you want more frequent updates, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Otherwise, we plan to send out the next major update after we get her day 100 lab results.