[squirrellypoo]

Oh, Laura they're pretty sure the liver infection is fungal and reckon the lung spots were, too, but that the spots might be inflammatory tissue from an infection that's been fought off already (so there'd be no living fungus left to grow when they put it in a dish). They're waiting to see what the next CT scan says, but the consultant said he spoke to the fungal people and if the CT scan shows tiny spots then they'll switch me off the IVs onto something oral even if it's not entirely gone. So unless there are new spots or they've gotten bigger, I should hopefully be able to start back at work for the end of January. Fingers tightly crossed!

One bit of good news from my appt on the 23rd is that they're pretty sure the 47,000 EBV level result was an aberration or mistake at the lab, because I've had two low counts (300-500ish) since then and while EBV likes to jump around, it doesn't jump *quite* that much! So they're retesting that sample, but the consultant said I won't need another course of Rituximab. Phew!! Oh and he also said my EBV levels moving around are proof that my new immune system is starting to do its job and he's confident I'll be able to fight off infections better now, too (one of the reasons they're being a bit more lax with the liver infection, as they think I can mop up the rest on my own with some help from a lesser antifungal). Here's hoping it finds something to occupy itself that isn't attacking my poor skin!!

Oh, and Serkan, the consultant told me that the average for blood type switching is about 4 months, but he said they see people switch at 6-9 months, too, and it's not really known why there's such a range. But he also said that they only test the lymphocytes for blood type, and they're the last to come back to normal, so it could be that your reds or platelets are the donor type and it just wouldn't show up since they're testing other cells.