Glorious Day 18

The day is cloudy, drizzly and gray in appearance but for Jim and me it is sunny and bright.  Each morning around 5:00 Jim has his blood drawn so it will get back in time for the nurse practitioner and doctor to review. This morning all the important counts (RBC, WBC and platelets) continue to rise. Today he had a new nurse practitioner. She was amazed Jim has not had a fever this entire time. I almost feel like I will be jinxing things by talking about it. Before the transplant we educated ourselves and prepared for all the possible side effects Jim could have including complications. Aside from one mouth sore, a little nausea and fatigue he has done remarkably well. The NP thinks his donor probably has certain viral and bacterial characteristics the same as Jim's so that would reduce the chance of complications. He is far from being without problems but this is definitely a great start.

Today's nurse was Brian and he was fantastic. Each time he came in he taught us a little. He was preparing us for discharge soon. Of course we have so many questions. We were given a handout entitled Returning Home After Allogeneic Transplant. I'll be reading it and writing down my questions. All of Jimmy's medications are now being given in pill form. This picture is what he takes in the morning and he is even missing one pill. In the left cup are meds to help fight off viruses, bacteria and fungus. The most important of all his medications is the immunosuppressant pill. These drugs lower the body's ability to reject the donor's blood. The pills on the right are vitamins and minerals.


Jimmy received another unit of platelets today. He has a slight reaction (hives) each time he gets platelets so they give him IV Benadryl beforehand which makes him a little sleepy. At 1:00 I went to lunch with Lloyd, another caregiver I met on the transplant floor. She and her husband are from Indiana and they will be recovering at the Hope Lodge also. Lloyd is an energetic, positive, friendly person. Just the type I want to be around. I'm glad she will be at the Hope Lodge for companionship.

When I got back to the room Jim's central line in his chest had been removed. It was a definite that he would be discharged. Because I have the apartment so close to the hospital they were comfortable releasing him a couple of days early. If anything were to go wrong we were literally a seven minute walk to the Emergency Room. Brian did some more teaching and the pharmacist came in to review all the medications and times with us. Jim will have an appointment Wednesday and Friday this week with Dr. Sauter. Each time he goes in he will have to have blood work.  It is extremely important to check the blood levels of several of the medications he is on to see if they need to tweak the dosage.

We actually walked back to the apartment. It was the first time in more than three weeks that Jim was able to smell the fresh air. Ok it wasn't fresh but it was air and he was out in the open. He has to wear a mask and gloves to protect himself when walking near people. On the way back to the apartment we stopped in the Catholic Church and lit a candle. This time it was the big one. It feels really good for him to put on a T-shirt without four tubes coming out of his chest. It feels good to put his feet up and look out the window at the New York skyline. It feels good to take a shower without someone outside the bathroom door. I know it will feel good for him to sleep uninterrupted in a big comfortable bed.  It just feels darn good.