Day 23

This is Nanette "blobbing". It is nearly the end of another day; Jeff has been slightly less fatigued today. He didn't let you know that he gets IV fluids at home everyday. A home health nurse came to show us how to operate the pump. Because of what has been done, his electrolytes are out of balance. One that is going to stay out of the "normal" range for awhile--2 months or so according to the nurse practitioner--is magnesium. So, our bottom level of the refrigerator is filled with a week's worth of IV fluids. They adjust amounts and volumes according to what his labwork shows when we go into the Dr.'s office. Each morning I hook him up for about 4 hours. Then he is free for the rest of the day. Today he walked outside for about 20 minutes. We would've done more if it hadn't been so cold. Jeff didn't tell you, but one of the things that a caretaker of a bone marrow transplant patient has to do is handle all of the food, cook it, and clean up. He isn't to help at all due to the possibility of bacteria or fungus. Now that doesn't sound like a big deal, but---I haven't cooked three meals a day for about 4 years. He isn't allowed outside food from restaurants yet either. He has to have a bone marrow biopsy monthly for awhile. The dr came in on Tues. and sat by me, but asked him if he wanted conscious sedation---he meant for the bone marrow biopsy. I said yes. He said he wasn't talking to me. I said I know but that I want conscious sedation because I have to cook three meals a day. I thought it was pretty funny, but the dr didn't crack a smile. He isn't our "normal" dr. Oh well. I am just thrilled to have him home! Our home was just a house with furniture in it while he was in the hospital. Now that he is here, it is so enjoyable. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else doing anything else. He is a fighter and a trooper. I don't know how I would behave with all he has had done to him. Love you all!! Thanks for your support. We'll keep blobbing at least 3 times a week.
Oh, two more awesome things--Cory and Adam put on craigs list something about getting a wii for Jeff and this man responded and now we have one for Jeff to play and have something to do besides sleeping and reading. It was so wonderful of them to think of Jeff!! Cory and Adam are great people who we are so happy to be related to. Sue came up to help me make meals to separate into single meals so that Jeff has choices about what to eat. They are already cooked, so just have to be thawed and warmed in the microwave. It took all of one afternoon. Wonderful sister!

Day 22

I guess I will try and continue the blog due to popular demand. I am thinking about a weekly update. The transition home has gone well. Nanette is doing a great job taking care of me. It is a full time job right now.

We had doctor appointments on Tuesday and Thursday. My blood counts have increased dramatically this week. Platelets went from 19 to 106. Red blood cells went from 28.2 to 34.5. White blood cells went from 1.1 to 5.0. My ANC went from 440 to 2600. I told the nurse practitioner that this isn't my blood and she agreed with me. She said it was my donors blood made from the new bone marrow.

I still have some issues that I am dealing with. There are some noises in my lungs that seem to be resolving. I cough deeply to try and clear the lungs and I am also on antibiotics. My appetite has been poor and I have been forcing myself to eat. This is just improving slightly as I had smoked turkey yesterday and ham today. Fatigue is another problem that I am to expect. The problem is that expecting and dealing with fatigue are 2 different things. I can take a 2 hour nap and still be tired. I also find myself sitting in a chair for 30 minutes or more and not wanting to move until my bladder says it is time to move. My most difficult challenge has been the bowels. The diarrhea has decreased significantly but my body will not shake whatever is causing loose stools. It could be the chemo, my electrolytes out of range, the transplant and many other things. The doctor's don't have a fix all cure. It sounds like I deal with this until my body fixes itself. Take care. Hope you had a good week.

Day 18

We just met with Dr. Matous and I am going home today. Nanette is loading the car. It will be several trips for her. We are hoping to be gone by 4PM. Tomorrow we have an appointment at 9AM at the clinic and that will become our new life with at least 3 visits per week for a while. They will take blood and see if I need any blood products or mineral replacements. This will end the blog. Thank you for your support and prayers. Take care. Jeff

Day 17

Just a short update because I am tired and it is getting late. Overall a pretty good day. The diarrhea is under control and the mouth sores are pretty much gone. I have a slight fever that I seem to get every afternoon and then it goes away during the night. I have a cough from some nasal drainage. The swelling in my ankles has reduced to where they are almost looking normal. I saw Dr. McSweeney this morning and he thinks things are going well but would not send me home tomorrow due to my white blood cell counts. He knows it is my Doctors call since Dr Matous will be the hospital doctor all week. We will see what happens tomorrow morning. Here are my counts: platelets= 16, red blood cells =28.8, white blood cells ANC 400. The ANC count decreased from yesterday but the total white blood cells went from 600 to 1000. I am not sure how to read this. I will ask Dr Matous tomorrow. Take care. Jeff

Day 16

I had a pretty good night last night. I was able to sleep well between interruptions. The diarrhea slowed down and remained under control until this morning. I took a dose of opium this morning and the diarrhea seems to be back under control. My body decided to dump fluids on its own so I urinated all night. This is good because the swelling in the legs and feet are going down. The doctor did not have to give me lasix since my body is doing it on its own. This is the result of the white blood cells forming and reporting to duty. I do have a cough which is new. Here are my counts: platelets=14, red blood cells 23.8, white blood cells ANC=528. I did require 2 units of blood last night since me red blood cells were below 24.0.

I saw Dr McSweeney this morning. He had nothing exciting to say. He noted the increase in my white blood cells but said he has seen better. He is not very motivational. Dr Matous will be the hospital dr next week, so that will make us happy.

This is Nanette now. It is 1:30 and I just got here. I have snow blown at least 20 inches of snow. It is still snowing cats and dogs down in Parker. As I got closer to the hospital, the snow changed to rain. The winter storm warning was to expire at noon, but they extended it for Douglas county--Parker and south until 6pm tonight. There are to be around 5 more inches of snow before it stops. I didn't get here yesterday, and wondered about today. The plow came through this morning. It took me an hour yesterday and an hour today to snowblow. It is Colorado cement!! Heavy and wet!! I was so glad to get here and see that Jeff isn't hooked to any iv pump or pole except for when he gets blood, electrolyte replacements, and his antibiotic. He looks naked without it. Happy trails to you. I am thrilled to be here today. It felt really weird to be gone from 4pm Thurs until today...not normal at all.

Day 15

I had a pretty good night last night. I slept well and the diarrhea was minimal. I didn't get any blood products but will most likely need red blood cells tonight. Here are the counts:
Platelets=20, red blood cells 24.1, white blood cells ANC 440.

I saw my Doctor this morning. He says he will send me home if I am doing well Monday morning. I am going to be IV pole free shortly. They are stopping the IV tacrolimius and going to pills this evening so I will only be hooked up when getting antibiotics or blood products. It will be nice to not have to drag the IV pole everywhere I go.

It is snowing like crazy out my window. Nanette decided not to try and come today since the roads are bad and there is a winter storm warning for lots of snow. I walked for 30 minutes today and am eating OK. I still do not have an appetite but force myself to eat. They were counting my calories but discontinued counting this morning. That's the update for today. I just need to resolve the diarrhea issue and life will be great. Take care.

Day 14

The internet started working again this afternoon so we are back in business. I had diarrhea most of last night. It stopped around 8AM this morning and has been under control since then. I am being careful the kind of food I eat in case it is a factor. Hopefully it will stay in control this evening. The doctor thinks it just may take some time to heal my intestines from the chemo. As the white blood cells build they will do their healing thing. The doctor and nurse practitioner were the same ones from yesterday. They said I would not be going home Friday. Their two concerns are the diarrhea and they would like to see the white blood cells above 500. Here are today's counts: Platelets=23, Red blood cells 25.3, white blood cells ANC=450.

We were given our discharge teaching this afternoon. Nothing that we haven't read in our books except I will not be allowed to have fountain drinks. The concern is that they do not clean their lines so bacteria may be lurking. Nanette left about 4PM and is having a cleaning party at the house tonight. So I have a quiet evening ahead and will watch "the office" and go to bed around 9PM. Take care. Thanks for reading, your comments, and your prayers.

Day 13

Sorry for no update sooner. The internet isn't working at the hospital and I just got home. Maybe a hold on the discharge as Jeff is experiencing a lot of diarrhea and abdominal problems. The dr today seemed a little more hesitant to let him go home. They are going ahead with the discharge teaching though for both of us. All of his prescriptions have been called in and I am to pick them up tomorrow and bring them to the hospital so the pharmacist and nurse can go over each one with us, tell us the reason it is being given, how important it is to be given on time....We will have to bring all of his medications to the office visits the first month to let them know we know what we are giving/taking, when and why. They had Jeff go down for an abdominal xray today and did some more lab work. Otherwise, he is taking a lot of his medications by mouth even though his throat is sore. They also started a calorie count today to make sure his intake is adequate. Liquids are still the easiest thing for him to tolerate. Ensure and milkshakes are his best friends at the moment. We'll let you know more tomorrow. Don't have his counts with me at this time, but I know his ANC went down some. We need the dr to be a little more forth coming to talk with us and let us know the plan. He is from New Zealand and has a thick brogue. Nice enough, but doesn't talk much. At this stage in the game, words that they say are really important to both a patient and family. Those are the things we hold onto. Thanks for all of your love and support!!

Blood counts: Platelets=23, red blood cells=25.8 , white blood cells ANC=350

Day 12

Today is a wonderful.....scary day. Dr. Matous came in today to discuss with Jeff the possibility of going home Friday....Needless to say, we both have had apprehension that was alleviated some by cornering him in the hallway with another wife of a patient who is being discharged Thursday, and asking many questions of him. He wanted to run the other way and stated, "I know there isn't another way out of here."He acted like it wouldn't be a big deal for me to take care of him, and I said, "This isn't my area of expertise; also, it's like taking home a brand new baby." There is a boatload of information that is to be thrown at us the next few days along with plenty of support, but it is interesting how we both are nervous and scared. He also said things can change if there is a fever, he can't keep food down or take his medications by mouth......Today they have switched over some of his iv meds to oral. They placed a fentanyl patch on him for pain management and will take the pump away in about an hour. If this patch doesn't handle his pain, they will make other provisions and changes to help him. Jeff actually ate most of an omelet today. Otherwise, his meals are still the same with ensure, milk shakes, and soup.
Each person who has come in this afternoon has said, "Hey, we hear you get to go home on Friday." His nurse, Esteban, said he could tell there was concern in his Jeff's voice---about those words. Nap, walk, and shower took up this afternoon. Lasix to remove extra fluid both morning and night have been given. His chest xray and echocardiogram were clear. I haven't done any cleaning at home since Jeff has been here. That needs to change as it has to be clean for HOMECOMING. He still has "Kankles." That is today's update with numbers to follow. Thanks one and all!

Platelets--19; Red blood cells--28.8; White blood cells--0.5; ANC--400

Day 11

When I talked with Jeff this am on the phone, and asked how he was, he said,"Pretty good." It has been at least 12 days since I have heard that response. He slept well last night. Stated he thought his night nurse was actually retarded. Dr Matous came in this am and announced, "We have some engraftment." His absolute neutrophil count is 280. That is one part of the white blood cell count and the one that is most telling for the dr's. "0" was what we wanted for awhile because of the chemo--to kill the wbc's and now the goal is increasing neutrophils. He said we need to start to watch for graft vs. host disease now. That is what will be the biggie for the next 100 days and on. The first 100days is the acute period of time and then they call it chronic graft vs. host following that time. Fevers, skin rashes, gi problems and liver problems are what we are concerned about now. He got to leave the floor today for his chest xray. Lovely lasix was again administered to help get rid of extra fluid. Also compression stockings are on now to try to help control the swelling in his feet. An echocardiogram was done this afternoon to see if he has any extra fluid around his heart. He is only taking the tincture "as needed now." He has only had one dose today. Platelets were given again this afternoon. Sue came up from Monument. She liked seeing how well he was doing. Jeff's responses are appropriate and his speech is clearer today. That makes me feel better as well. We just walked 15 min. and now he is getting his antibiotics. I did my first load of laundry in 3 days today. That is a record!

Platelets--21; Red blood cells--29.8; White blood cells--0.2; ANC--280

Day 10

Happy Easter! The doctor came in today while I was here. There is a small possibility according to the lab work today that Jeff might be having some early engraftment. He said that goes with the labwork and how the patient feels. Jeff has been almost diarrhea free for 18 hours. They want him to give his weekly poop sample--they gather one each Sunday--but so far, he isn't able to give them one. Dr. also said his numbers will probably go back down with him getting his last dose of methotrexate tomorrow. After that there should be a slow steady climb of white blood cells. That was really fun news to get. He cautioned us to take it with a grain of salt as this ISN"T an exact science. Two units of packed red blood cells have been given this afternoon even though his rbc's are not below 24. The dr. wants them on board before the methotrexate tomorrow. His big Easter present was a different soda pop today. We walked for 15 minutes this morning. He is taking less opium today.

Deanne typing now...Monica and I are here again, we brought the boys and Grammie is out playing with them right now while we visit with dad. He's feeling lots better today, which is good to hear. He's getting some blood right now, so amazingly enough his face has good color right now, his nose is even a little pink! :-)

Ta-ta for now, dozing off...

Platelets--19; Red blood cells--25.3; White blood cells--0.2; ANC--80

Day 9

Today has been much the same as the last few with one FINE exception---A LOT FEWER POOP problems!!!! It has been 11 days of royal pain in that arena. Today Jeff is having about half the amount as has been the norm lately!!! Platelets were given this pm along with quite a few electrolyte replacements. All of his electrolytes except magnesium have needed to be replaced today. We have potassium, sodium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, chloride. There is a very narrow range that is considered "normal" and if one goes outside that range, there can be fairly significant problems. They are very good here at replacing him. He hasn't had a good appetite, but that is okay. Both Monica and Deanne came today for a period of time to see him. Jeff came out of his room and to the "family visiting room" for about 5 minutes to see Mikey ---and just to be out of the room. Lasix was given in a smaller dose today.--20mg iv as opposed to 40mg that he has gotten for the last two days. His feet and legs are still quite swollen. Today has been a "good nursing day". Lisa is his nurse and they clicked right away. She listens to him and isn't into power and control. That has worked really well for him. He needed to have her today. The girls all pitched in to get him a digital picture frame. He was trying to figure it out this afternoon. With the drugs on board, that has been a challenge. Encouraging him to drink/eat is a challenge, but I am mostly trying to let the dietician and nurses be the "bad guy." Otherwise, I am nagging. His hair is also falling out which isn't too traumatic for him. He has a great looking head. Deanne's birthday is today. He tried to sing to her, but that was somewhat difficult with his mucositis---mouth and esophagus sores. He just sounded a big froggy is all. She was grateful. Well, the gift of Easter is tomorrow which gives us an abundance of gratitude and hope!! Thank goodness for the Atonement, or this life would be for naught. So long for today. The numbers follow:

Platelets--18; Red blood cells--26.8; White blood cells--0.1; ANC=0

Day 8

More of the same things today. Diarrhea out the yingyang for Jeff that kept him going all night long. The tincture of opium went from 4x a day 3 days ago to every 4 hours yesterday to every 2 hours today. They are trying to get something to work. They told him not to even use the immodium at all. Breakfast was a ensure, applesauce, yogurt and a shasta cola that he opens to let the carbonation out prior to drinking. Lunch held a chocolate milkshake. He didn't take a nap until about 3pm because of the lasix that they gave him. He was urinating every 5 min for about two hours. I posted the sign on his door to leave him alone. That didn't work so well today. I felt irritated at the 2 nurses who came in to hang antibiotics and all. They could've waited until 4pm but didn't. I held my tongue but felt ticked inside. He had a couple of run ins with his nurse today about things that really shouldn't be that big of a deal. But he and I are obviously feeling way out of control and it obviously is getting to us. The dr said he is doing well. He said that next week is when his body should "kick in" and that he is going to think that the dr next week "is the most brilliant man and what was wrong with the bozo last week." Pretty funny. But that is when things should change for the better--between Wed and Sat they said. I am making him go walking now since he hasn't done any exercising in the last 3 days. He isn't thrilled, but is going to do it. Shower is next.

Platelets--18 Red blood cells--29.6 White--0.1 ANC 0

Wahoo. 10 minutes of walking!! Slow but steady.

Day 7

It's Nanette making this post. I have been here today since 1100 and he has slept most of the time. That is exactly what he should be doing. He most certainly isn't supposed to be the entertainment committe. He is awake now and looking over the paper. The fentanyl and the opium are making him pretty tired along with having no white blood cells. The diarrhea has settled down temporarily. He had a dietician come to talk with him about his calorie intake. She suggested that he do ensure and boost each meal because they contain a lot of calories and don't involve a lot of chewing and swallowing. He is listening. Another first today. A massage therapist came in and massaged Jeff's very swollen feet. It brought some temporary relief. He has never officially had a massage before. He elevates his feet in bed with 2 pillows. More lasix was given today to help rid the body of some excess fluid. He has fluctuated in weight from the first day of 194 down to 188 and now 202. It makes it less than desireable to walk. He hasn't exercised in 3 days. Great joy for me. I don't have to gown anymore when I come into the room! They said I didn't have to glove, but that "just doesn't seem right to me" when he has no white blood cells. I was grateful for the girls to come see him yesterday since I had to work. It was somewhat difficult to concentrate and take care of other people when I knew he was in the hospital....The dr said today that their job is to make him comfortable during this period of time when we are awaiting the growth of the new blood cells. Thanks for all your kind words and thoughts!! Prayers too!!! He attitude is good! Love you.

Oops Numbers again:

Platelets--24. They aren't going to transfuse anymore unless he is below 20. WBC 0.1. Red blood cells--23.6. He got 2 units of blood overnight as well as the typical electrolyte replacements. ANC is 0.

P.S. Paxton was circumcised this am. He was weaned off of all monitors over the course of the day yesterday. She got to nurse him for the first time last night. They get to take him home today if you can believe it!!!!! Yahoo and hurray. Man, can baby's change quickly. The Lord answered all of our prayers.

Day 6

This is Deanne typing for dad again...Monica and I came during our lunch because mom is working today.

Fairly good night last night, decent sleep about 5 hours uninterrupted (diarrhea free). Midnight it started again. I was up every 30 minutes going to the bathroom. Last night I got platelets, and some other junk for electrolytes. I'm getting platelets every 12 hours whether I like it or not. Saw the doctor this morning and they are giving me lasix because I'm retaining fluids in my feet. Getting methtrexate this afternoon and day 11 (a small dose of chemo) that helps prevent GVHD, this also gives mouth sores...once the white blood cells start coming up, that will help with the mouth sores. The doctor says that the mouth sores are from a virus, not the chemo. So I'm taking medicine for the virus, can't recall the name of it right now.(Acyclovir)

I'm getting the opium 4 X a day, it's the nastiest tasting stuff I've had. It has to be taken orally. But, it seems to be doing the trick and slowing down the occurances of diarhea. Mom talked to the pharmacist at her hospital and based on the symptoms they said that it's the right treatment.

The mouth sores are making it hard to talk and eat or drink anything. His feet look like (these are his words) Fat Albert's...at least he's making jokes still!

Red blood cells: 24.3 Platelets: 17 White Blood Cells: 30

Day 5

Hello everyone,
The fentanyl pca is working well to handle Jeff's pain. It makes him drowsy though, so he is considering asking them to turn down the amount some. The dr was in and said main goal at this time is to protect Jeff's organs and organ systems so they don't shut down. He has quite a bit of ankle swelling. They have decreased his iv fluids. Everything except immodium is iv. Also, his platelets have been so low that the order is to transfuse platelets to him every 12 hours for 48-72 hours. One other item. His bowels continue to flow at a rapid pace, so they are starting to give him tincture of opium every day. He hasn't had his first dose yet. It is a heavy duty thing drug that pharmacy makes to slow down the motility of his digestive system, so he maybe can absorb some of the nutrients that he is taking in and not flushing them immediately through the gut. Mouth sores still very sore!!!

Platelets--8 Red blood cells---27.2 WBC---0.1 ANC---0

Wahoo for Mimi and Todd and baby Paxton born at 4:11 am this morning our time. He is in the
nursery as he isn't pumping the blood to his extremities well. Hope to hear from them later today for what the pediatrician's plan is.

Day 4

New hospital doctor for the week is Dr. Brunsbaugh. He came in to see Jeff this morning and was going to change some things for him. The biggest thing that has started is that they have Jeff on a PCA which is--patient controlled analgesia. He is receiving fentanyl. It is mostly for his mouth sores. He has a constant amount that goes in over each hour and then he has what is called a demand amount that he can push when he has either extra pain or to help him when he is eating. Maintenance iv fluids continue. He received platelets last night and other electrolyte replacements. The interesting thing the dr said was quite possibly some of the diarrhea could be due to the destruction of the cancer in the abdomen and the abdomen now trying to deal with empty spots--a new landscape. He encouraged Jeff to keep eating and keep taking as much immodium as he needs to each day to try to stop it. He can take 8 pills per day. His last diarrhea was at 0830 this morning which is great. It is about 1:15 now. He only has 4 more pills that he can take today. The other big thing today was that Jeff got to leave the floor to go down for a chest xray. Each Monday, they standardly do one. He hasn't left the floor in 12 days, so that was good for him. He had to be gowned, gloved, and have a mask on as well. We walked for 10 min this am. He is feeling weak and tired, but a good attitude the majority of the time. Our thoughts have been about Michelle today as well. --a lot. Two people in the hospital at once is a lot...
The hope is that both will have a glorious outcome. We'll keep in touch.

Oops, here are his counts today:
Platelets--4 ANC-134 red blood cells- 26.2

Day 3

I was waiting for my secretary Deanne to arrive and dictate this to her but she and Monica can not come today since Monica is sick. Since I have no white cells it is dangerous to be exposed to someone sick. Deanne has been around her so she is protecting me also.

I had a good night last night. I am now taking Imodium for the diarrhea. It really helped last night and I finally got a decent sleep. A new problem started. I have some small mouth sores from the chemo. They are pretty insignificant but one seems to be near where I swallow food so it is making eating difficult. I am eating soft food and liquids.

Blood counts: Platelets 3, white blood cells 180, red blood cells 21.9. These counts entitled me to 2 units of blood and one of platelets. One interesting thing is that they give me o- blood now since I will transition from a- to b+ during this process. O- is the universal donor. I saw the doctor this morning and he said that I am doing great. Of course I do not feel like I am doing great. He says how you are feeling and how you are doing are different in this case. Small consolation as I sit on the toilet with a sore rear and can't swallow.

Today has been pretty good. Some diarrhea action this morning controlled by Imodium. Nanette & I watched the afternoon General Conference on the lap top. Walking in the hall for 10 minutes about wore him out. Jeff is up around in the bedroom for a little bit, then he sleeps for 15-30 min. I told him that is what I tell my patients to do. ..Be busy, then rest. His attitude is pretty good. He got a dose of methotrexate this afternoon and is still on antibiotics. Doing laundry is a daily occurrence around here. No worries though as it is just down the hall. It is shower time now and then he is going to try iv pain meds--fentanyl--to help him eat some dinner without pain. He is nervous about doing that, but the nurse and I convinced him that to eat and not have pain is better than worrying about falling. I will be in the room the whole time to monitor him and make sure he doesn't fall. That's all for now. Sionara Love to you!!!

Day 2

This is Deanne writing for dad.

It was another tough night with lots of diarrhea and now mouth sores...I noticed mouth sores about bed time and the nurse checked them out, gave me some miracle "warsh" (wash) to help out with them. The doctor could not see them this morning so I think the wash helped out. I got platelets, potassium, and magnesium during the night.

We were supposed to have a big snow storm last night and it didn't materialize, just got a spitting of snow. Nanette is staying home and taking the day off. Deanne is here right now helping out and Monica will be here later in the afternoon after the big switch off of the kiddos! Saw the doctor and nurse practitioner this morning and asked them for Immodium to stop the diarrhea. They finally consented to that, and the diarrhea is seeming to slow down (which is a good thing). The doctor said that this will pass, he thinks the reason for the diarrhea and mouth sores is because of the high dose of chemo.

Ok, now it's Deanne. I went and tried to start the laundry but someone has a crap load of clothes to do so I haven't been able to get to it yet. He has been lying in bed most of the time I've been here, besides getting up to go to the bathroom and eat a small bit of food. His eating consists of a small portion of food at a time, i.e. he ate a 1/2 of an english muffin and a pop...slow eating so he does not overwhelm his stomach. Mom called to "check in" a little bit ago. I rode his exercise bike for 7 minutes or so, but this gown and gloves gets you so hot that I had to stop...I didn't want to be sweating when I took a shower this morning... :-) The retry time for laundry is 11:30 and I will be refilling ice, pop, and getting myself something to eat too. The food room is pretty cool here because there is a variety of food and drinks that we're allowed to eat...funny story, the first time Monica and I were here and mom and dad told us to go get food and drinks. We were scared to go in there b/c we thought we'd get in trouble, and we got caught by a nurse!! So the next day I told them no way no how I will not go in there b/c we're gonna get in trouble...there was a nurse in the room and she said that they were the only ones that get in trouble if they eat the food! Phew! That would have stunk getting kicked out of the hospital!!

Blood counts: platelets 8, white blood cells 270, red blood cells 27.1

It was surprising that the white blood counts went up. I asked the doctor about it and he said not to take it as a positive sign yet, there's a good chance that it will still hit zero before the stem cells start working.

Day 1

Well I made it through another night. The first half was good then the 2nd half bad. I was able to sleep the first half and my urinary tract problem seemed to be fixed. The second half of the night I got diarrhea again. Now I couldn't sleep and was getting up from the bed every 15 minutes. I trying to increase my fluids and eat a bland diet to get this under control. I may not be able to, it may take until my white blood cells start to come back.

Blood counts: platelets 11, white blood cells 160 , red blood cells 28.7
They are saying we are in a watch and see game right now. If all goes well my white cells should decrease to zero then start building up when the new bone marrow en graphs and starts working properly. 160 is quite low so I am open to infection. They are giving me 2 antibiotics just as a precaution.

I walked for 15 minutes this morning. I will try and do more later. It is tiring just typing this blog. That's the fatigue from the white blood cells being so low.

Nanette and I figured my rebirth was at 11:17AM 2 April. That is when the last bone marrow stem cell entered my body. Now we just have to get the 6 million little buggers to start working without my body rejecting them.

Jeff walked twice today for about 15 min at at time. He is still battling diarrhea a lot which makes it difficult for him to want to eat. I am forcing him to get something in every hour--popsicles, applesauce, crackers, juice...I am suggesting to him to have mashed potatoes, english muffin, bagels...He isn't really excited about anything. He is losing weight, but is still being willing to be henpecked about eating. He just got some zofran--antinausea meds--to help settle his stomach.
There is supposed to be a really big snowstorm tonight; both Deanne and Monica are planning to spell me tomorrow. They want the chance to serve their dad and to be with him. Using hospital bottoms is working better at this time rather than Jeff's own clothes. I have been running a load or two daily. There is a washing machine and dryer here for patients and families to use with very strict instructions on cleaning following each load of laundry. Clorox bleach needs to be run with water only following a load of patients clothing along with bleach wipes on the tops of both the washer and dryer. While in Jeff's room, any visitors need to be gowned and gloved following a vigorous handwashing at two different stations. It was pretty interesting wearing a gown and gloves to bed over my pajamas two nights ago. This is it for us today.

Day 0

Day 0:
It is 1042 am and Jeff is getting his cells now!!! They premedicated him with benadryl, ativan, tylenol, solucortef prior to the transplant. We both have been a little emotional this morning prior to the cells being given. The doctor started them dripping at 1005. Jeff was up for good at 0645 and has just been in the waiting mode until the doctor and nurse came in for the giving of the cells. He is getting one bag of cells---but there are 6 million of them! They collected 12 million from the donor. There were only 3 million needed--per the nurse this am. The lady who was here last night to receive the cells and check them told me that they were "beautiful cells." She also said the courier had a message from the donor. "My prayers are with you and I hope this gives you a new chance at life." Of course I cried. Jeff just said we will officially count it as his birth when the last cells go in. Want to make a bet on the time? Thank you--all of you--for your prayers and kind thoughts. We know without a shadow of a doubt that they are heard by God!!

Blood counts
Platelets 12 Rbc's 29.8 WBC .3

day -1/2

Last night was much better. They gave me the ATG (rabbit stuff) and I did not react at all. No temperature or anything. I got decent sleep during the night. To help out they ran the ATG into me at a slower rate and changed the timing of the premeds. Anyway it worked. I did get platelets during the night as my platelets dropped below 10.

Blood counts. Platelets=9 White blood cells=.4 Red blood cells=28.6

I am officially neutropenic today so they are going to start some antibiotics just in case since I am more prone to infection. My stem cells (bone marrow) are supposed to arive sometime tonight. Dr Bearman said they will infuse them tomorrow morning because the shelf life is 48 hours. So it looks like my new birthday will be 2 April.

Nanette will arrive about 1PM today. I walked this morning and will go out for 20 more minutes now. A hospital chaplain and dietician paid me a visit today along with the nurses, doctor & nurse practioner. Never a dull moment.

The day went downhill from there. Diarrhea, temperature of 102 and urinary frequency started and continued throughout the night. They took urine and stool samples and started Jeff on both intravenous antibiotics--cefepime as well as oral levaquin. I stayed overnight with him. He was up every 10-20 minutes to the bathroom. I have run 2 loads of wash since last night. His appetite isn't good at this point. He is doing the brat diet at this time. So long for now.