Graft vs. Host Disease

On April 15, 2010 Steve was released from the hospital and joyously came home. He had at the time a level one of "graft vs. host disease" (GVHD) due to his body cells fighting the donor's blood cells. This is a natural reaction to a stem cell transplant, and caused a red measle-like rash over Steve's whole body. However, after four days at home, the GVHD worsened to a level 2 or 3 (of a possible 4) and Steve had to be re-admitted to the hospital.

The rash became a solid red/purple over most of Steve's body, and it was burning his skin from inside the cells-out. It caused so much pain on the bottom of Steve's feet and palms of his hands that he could hardly walk for about 7 days. While in the hospital Steve was sent to Huntsman Cancer Hospital twice a week for a special treatment called photopheresis to try and balance out his white blood cells from this extreme reaction.

Finally on April 25, the rash began to let up a little, especially on Steve's feet and hands. Much of Steve's skin is blistered and peeling all over in big areas, sometimes leaving new raw skin exposed. Steve's face is returning to pink, instead of bright red!

Steve has shown a lot of patience and strong resilience in a long and challenging ordeal. He is cheerfully waiting to be put back on real food, hopefully tomorrow, instead of IV nutrition. He (and we also) are so thankful he is really starting to mend.