Saturday, July 01, 2006
Come on White Cells - Get it in gear!
My doctor is still planning on moving me to the Village this coming Monday (this could change depending on availability, any new conditions that may pop up, etc.) Does that mean I'll be part of the "Village People?" Seems I dressed up as one of the Village People a few years ago at Halloween with the gals at OCO.
My white cells dropped to 1000 today so they are boosting it with Neupogen again. I wish they'd just let it be so I can see what my new stem cells will do on their own. The good news is I haven't needed a transfusion, neither platelet or red cells, since Thursday night. Seems the stem cells are starting to make red blood cells and maybe a few platelets. Yeah : )
This marrow transplant has been one of the most challenging things I've ever done. I feel fortunate that I came through it pretty well. There are a lot of very sick transplant patients here. A few weeks back I heard a man yelling at night, and before that somebody "coded." That was scary because these sirens went off and people were running in the halls. He was taken to ICU on another floor.
There were many side effects which I never got! Many patients get terrible mouth sores and sores in the throat. It precludes them from eating and talking. Course, it would be difficult to shut me up. I feel so lucky to be in this good of shape post transplant. I know a lot of it is because of all of you supporting me. I can't tell you how many transfusions I had in this hospital, most were direct donations from all of you. You've kept me strong and positive and I thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. I have a huge assortment of the best get well cards ever! These will all go in my scrapbook. Then there is all the wonderful people who delivered dinners to my family. What a fantastic gesture this was. Also, a lot of people drove Andrew to and from basketball games, tournaments, etc. I can't begin to thank all of you for all you've done.
Even though I still have a long road ahead, seems like some of the toughest times are behind me (I hope.) I have to be on a low bacteria diet for 100 days post-transplant. I have to wear this super thick mask and gloves everywhere. My immune system will be fragile for a long time so I need to be very careful not to get exposed to anything unnecessarily. There is still the whole Graft vs. Host Disease (Rejection) which can manifest itself at any time. They say the fatigue will hit at weird times so just take it easy so I can rest. I need to follow the rules for another 60 days, so please understand if I'm not up to visitors when I go home.
Thank you for everything. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful and caring people. Love, nance
My white cells dropped to 1000 today so they are boosting it with Neupogen again. I wish they'd just let it be so I can see what my new stem cells will do on their own. The good news is I haven't needed a transfusion, neither platelet or red cells, since Thursday night. Seems the stem cells are starting to make red blood cells and maybe a few platelets. Yeah : )
This marrow transplant has been one of the most challenging things I've ever done. I feel fortunate that I came through it pretty well. There are a lot of very sick transplant patients here. A few weeks back I heard a man yelling at night, and before that somebody "coded." That was scary because these sirens went off and people were running in the halls. He was taken to ICU on another floor.
There were many side effects which I never got! Many patients get terrible mouth sores and sores in the throat. It precludes them from eating and talking. Course, it would be difficult to shut me up. I feel so lucky to be in this good of shape post transplant. I know a lot of it is because of all of you supporting me. I can't tell you how many transfusions I had in this hospital, most were direct donations from all of you. You've kept me strong and positive and I thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. I have a huge assortment of the best get well cards ever! These will all go in my scrapbook. Then there is all the wonderful people who delivered dinners to my family. What a fantastic gesture this was. Also, a lot of people drove Andrew to and from basketball games, tournaments, etc. I can't begin to thank all of you for all you've done.
Even though I still have a long road ahead, seems like some of the toughest times are behind me (I hope.) I have to be on a low bacteria diet for 100 days post-transplant. I have to wear this super thick mask and gloves everywhere. My immune system will be fragile for a long time so I need to be very careful not to get exposed to anything unnecessarily. There is still the whole Graft vs. Host Disease (Rejection) which can manifest itself at any time. They say the fatigue will hit at weird times so just take it easy so I can rest. I need to follow the rules for another 60 days, so please understand if I'm not up to visitors when I go home.
Thank you for everything. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful and caring people. Love, nance
