Zoe had her 3rd GFR this morning, a follow-up on previous tests to determine kidney function. It involves injecting a radioactive fluid into her central line, then testing how long it takes to process. They take two blood levels after a delay, check how much remains in her blood stream, and from that we can tell how well her kidneys are functioning.

Zoe’s last GFR reading was 49, which essentially means she was running on 1/2 kidney function. What we didn’t know is whether that was a temporary problem, a permanent one, or even if it was part of a continuing decline.

Today we know the answer, it was temporary. Her GFR today came back 66, which means she’s regained improved about 30% over where she was. It’s great news, but the most important part is that she is improving, not deteriorating. This would seem to indicate Dr. P was right that the previous GFR results were directly related to her Cyclosporine use. He couldn’t promise that we would see her kidney function return (ever) after stopping Cyclosporine, but now we know that it has.

Go Zoe!

Next week, is a big week, we’ll be doing her last week of pre-conditioning and be admitted in advance of her Stem Cell Transplant. More on that Monday.