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.