Monday, August 14, 2006
Getting Stronger
I'm sorry I haven't blogged for a while. I'm still very much enjoying being at home. The first thing that struck me when I got home was the size of my TV. I was used to watching TV on a maybe 15" screen in the hospital for almost 70 days and on a 17 - 19" TV at the village which was mounted very high on the wall. The picture looked enormous at home. It was almost shocking! The reason why this is important to me is because in the hospital many people brought DVD's of the boys basketball games. My eyes are very bad still from the chemo so I had a difficult time identifying who was who on the screen. I can see every player on my TV at home.
This weekend was a little tough as Mark and the boys went to Las Vegas. The boys were in the Hollywood Dodgers Basketball Tournament. They had a blast and did well in the tournament. Scott's team took championship with game 2 going into overtime and winning game 3 by only two points. Andrew was on the opposing team for game 3. He thought he got the last shot off from past half court and made the basket to find out that his shot was one second too late! Exciting stuff.... wish I could have been there. But, as luck would have it (actually good planning), several people taped the game for me. I can't wait to watch the tapes. Thank you for being great videographers. Mom stayed with me during their absence.
On Saturday, I needed both blood products. I received a unit of platelets (LC61729) and a unit of packed red cells (not from a designated donor). I also received 2 grams of Magnesium. Thank you for your continued platelet and blood donations. Today, I received 4 grams of Magnesium but was not in need of any blood products just yet. My doctor's hoping that my new stem cells are making some red cells and platelets. I probably could have used another platelet transfusion today but he wants to see what I'll do on my own. (For those who follow my counts, my platelet count was at 23,000, normal is 150,000 - 350,000) My next appointment isn't until Thursday so it's quite a few days away. He said to call if I start bleeding from my gums or eyeballs (well, I added the eyeball part) and he'll have me come in for transfusions.
I'm still feeling really good. I feel fortunate that I've been home for 10 days now. I'm being real careful about wearing my mask when I need to and washing my hands frequently. I'm also being very good about the low bacteria diet and care for my hickman catheter. I'm trying not to get sick. My white count is so low today (1.4, normal 4.0 - 11) so I have to be extra careful. I'm hoping it'll go up at my next appointment.
I feel like I'm not as weak as when I first arrived home. Just moving around my house gives me exercise compared to my small hospital room or even the Village room. I can go up and down the stairs with ease carrying laundry or whatever. I like to take little walks around the block (mom won't let me when she's here) after the sun goes down. At any rate, yes, I can feel myself getting a little stronger everyday. I even gained three pounds since I got home (do you think the 1/2 gallon of chocolate chip ice cream every three days has anything to do with my weight gain????) I'm hoping some of the three pounds is muscle weight... wishful thinking.
Okay, that's it for now. Thank you so much for continuing to follow my blog. I appreciate all of your love and support. With love, nancy
This weekend was a little tough as Mark and the boys went to Las Vegas. The boys were in the Hollywood Dodgers Basketball Tournament. They had a blast and did well in the tournament. Scott's team took championship with game 2 going into overtime and winning game 3 by only two points. Andrew was on the opposing team for game 3. He thought he got the last shot off from past half court and made the basket to find out that his shot was one second too late! Exciting stuff.... wish I could have been there. But, as luck would have it (actually good planning), several people taped the game for me. I can't wait to watch the tapes. Thank you for being great videographers. Mom stayed with me during their absence.
On Saturday, I needed both blood products. I received a unit of platelets (LC61729) and a unit of packed red cells (not from a designated donor). I also received 2 grams of Magnesium. Thank you for your continued platelet and blood donations. Today, I received 4 grams of Magnesium but was not in need of any blood products just yet. My doctor's hoping that my new stem cells are making some red cells and platelets. I probably could have used another platelet transfusion today but he wants to see what I'll do on my own. (For those who follow my counts, my platelet count was at 23,000, normal is 150,000 - 350,000) My next appointment isn't until Thursday so it's quite a few days away. He said to call if I start bleeding from my gums or eyeballs (well, I added the eyeball part) and he'll have me come in for transfusions.
I'm still feeling really good. I feel fortunate that I've been home for 10 days now. I'm being real careful about wearing my mask when I need to and washing my hands frequently. I'm also being very good about the low bacteria diet and care for my hickman catheter. I'm trying not to get sick. My white count is so low today (1.4, normal 4.0 - 11) so I have to be extra careful. I'm hoping it'll go up at my next appointment.
I feel like I'm not as weak as when I first arrived home. Just moving around my house gives me exercise compared to my small hospital room or even the Village room. I can go up and down the stairs with ease carrying laundry or whatever. I like to take little walks around the block (mom won't let me when she's here) after the sun goes down. At any rate, yes, I can feel myself getting a little stronger everyday. I even gained three pounds since I got home (do you think the 1/2 gallon of chocolate chip ice cream every three days has anything to do with my weight gain????) I'm hoping some of the three pounds is muscle weight... wishful thinking.
Okay, that's it for now. Thank you so much for continuing to follow my blog. I appreciate all of your love and support. With love, nancy
