Post Transplant (Week 7)

*(Day +41), Monday, (June 21st) and (Day +42), Tuesday, (June 22nd) are both a blur. Couldn't really tell you what happened because I was knocked out on pain meds. I pretty much only woke up to go to the bathroom, eat and take pills. I don't even remember what I ate or who my nurses were. I know I got antibiotics during both days and I know on the Tuesday that my white blood cell count was 3.4 and my ANC was 2300. Both are improvements and both are getting closer to the normal range.

*(Day +43),Wednesday, (June 23rd) was a much better day. My head and stomach were starting to feel better so I wasn't needing any pain meds so I was actually awake and coherent for most of the day, My day was more like my normal routine. I got up around 8:30 and heard that my white blood cell count was 4.3 (Normal is 4.0-11.0). My ANC was 3400. (Normal is 1600-8300). I haven't been in the normal range for over five years. My platelets and red blood cells are still being pokey so I'm still getting transfusions but they should start getting better soon. I took a nap in the morning, ate lunch, took another nap and walked several laps around the hall throughout the day. I took a shower and planned to go to bed early but ended up chatting with my night nurse, Em, until almost 2 a.m.. I promise to try to blog more often and not get so behind! Have a good day :)

*(Day +44),Thursday, (June 24th) was a good day. My migraine and stomach problems are better so I wasn't on any pain meds for most of the day. We learned that my white blood cell count continued to rise to 6.0! And my ANC jumped to 5,000! Both still in normal range, which is awesome! My fever has been gone for a few days so I get to leave the hospital tomorrow! I spent the rest of the day resting and watching TV and catching up on blogging/emails. It's hard when you get a week behind and then have millions of things to answer. But I finally got it all done. I also took some laps around the unit to work on my strength. My muscles are twitching less and I'm not getting out of breath as easily. I also walked all the way down and out to the front of the hospital and back. We only sat down once outside to enjoy the weather. I also discovered the massage chair on the unit and sat in that for awhile. My back has been hurting from sleeping so much and this chair was like heaven on my back and on my shaky legs. Then I took a nice shower and went to bed. Check back tomorrow when I get to leave!

*(Day +45),Friday, (June 25th) was a great day. I finished my antibiotics and I'm still fever free so they let me leave the hospital! We didn't get out until early afternoon and by the time we got back to the Ronald McDonald House I just wanted to sleep in a quiet setting. So I plopped down on the couch and slept until dinner. We ate at the house for dinner- chicken nuggets and macaroni. The people serving were really nice and funny. After dinner I rested because my stomach is so sensitive from all the meds and such. My mom went shopping so I had a few hours of alone time to just rest and be alone. It was awesome. I just took my pills and caught up on emails and now I'm about to go take a bath...yes, a bath (you don't get those in the hospital. you get crappy showers with cold water) and then I'm going to lay my fuzzy bald head down to sleep in a real bed where I will not be interrupted my machines and nurses and alarms and mysterious noises. I suspect this to be a very nice night.

*(Day +46), Saturday, (June 26th) was not a very good day. I was supposed to get a platelet transfusion in the morning so we woke up early to go to the bone marrow clinic and then when we got there we found out that the blood bank had screwed up and I wouldn't be able to get my platelets until the next day. I was feeling pretty crappy so I spent the rest of the day sleeping. I did manage to get up and go for a drive with my mom. We just drove around town and looked at potential cool places to go when I'm better. It was nice but I didn't realize how weird it would feel to ride in a car after so long. My mom was driving like 30 mph and I felt like I was on a roller coaster. I hadn't been in a car for like a month and a half. Driving is not like riding a bike. I found myself clutching my seatbelt and the handle on the door because I swore we were going to hit something or someone. It was also kind of frustrating because there were all these things I wanted to do and places I wanted to eat and places I wanted to shop. But I couldn't even manage to walk long enough to do that. eat dinner and shower. Having to check my blood sugar before I eat, count up the carbs and be given insulin is such a pain. I'll be so happy when my temporary diabetes is gone.

*(Day +47), Sunday, (June 27th) was another bad day. I woke up feeling really crummy and even turned down an offer to go see Sex and the City 2. Now you KNOW how crummy I must have felt. We went to the BMT clinic for blood draw and platelet transfusion and my temperature kept raising. They decided to let me go home because I was doing ok. I spent the rest of the day in bed feeling miserable. My mom made me eat dinner and it ended up making me feel even worse. Around 7 p.m. I got that same headache I had the last time I was re-admitted and I started to get sick to my stomach. My temp started raising to the 102's so they made us come in. Sunday night is a blur because I was on so many pain meds for my headache and stomach. During the night my fever spiked to 104.9 so now the doctors are working really hard to figure out what I have. I'm on general antibiotics for the time being.

**Reason of the Week: On Wednesday, some of my blood counts finally hit the normal range. For some counts, this is the first time in five years I've been normal. Being normal (medically) is always a reason to smile (RTS).