August 2011 - Day +16

Being back home I did not think I would be this tired. In the hospital the last couple days I was feeling pretty good with lots of energy. Now that I am back home I am pretty tired, yesterday and today I am feeling tired and lazy, but it is great to be back home.

Jane was pretty worn out too, she drove into the hospital everyday and would stay till about 7:00, now that I am home she will be able to catch up on some needed rest also.

Thanks to everyone who helped with keeping the girls busy, this helped so much. I think the girls were busier than they could have imagined, it made the two weeks go quickly for them.

What's next for me? I will have clinic visits on Mondays and Thursdays for the next couple weeks, then the visits will be reduced to once a week, baring no complications.

My immune system could be compared to a new born baby. If I go into a public place I will need to wear a mask, for the next 100 days. No yard work or cleaning for the next 100 days either, though I can go for walks outside. Hand washing and sanitizing is of up most importance along with not being around anyone who is sick.

August 2011 - Day +15

Well I am back home!

Left the hospital about 11:00 am. The central line did not come out easy, had to have surgery this morning to have it removed.

Time to rest for a while.

August 2011 - Day +14 - Update

Plans are in motion to get me out of here tomorrow (Friday). Things will start at 5:00 am with a platelet transfusion. The surgeon wanted my platelets a little higher before pulling the central line. At 7:30 am the surgeon will try and pull the central line bedside, if it cannot be pulled then I will have to go to a surgery room to have a small incision to have the line removed.

All in all I should be released and on the road home by noon.

August 2011 - Day +14

Looks like I will be coming home tomorrow (Friday), baring no unexpected complications. My body is producing white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets; though the platelets are coming back slowly.

Yesterday was a good day, though I have to say I getting a little stir crazy knowing that I am so close to being released. It is getting easier to eat and had little nausea yesterday.

WBC - 5.12
ANC - 2.91
Hemoglobin - 10.9
Platelets - 25

August 2011 - Day +13

We have lift off, numbers took a jump from yesterday's counts. I felt really good yesterday and had little nausea. I am down to one anti-nausea drug. I was able to eat all my meals, which is good since the "food police" come in after every meal to see what I have eaten.

WBC - 1.33
ANC - .42
Hemoglobin - 10.4
Platelets - 22

August 2011 - Day +12

Last night reminded me of when my daughter was younger and had a sleep over. I awoke about 1:30 am to talking and laughing. My nurse came in about 2:00 am to draw blood and I told her I thought the nurses were quite loud for the middle of the night. She stated she would talk to the nurses. But just like any good sleep over that only lasted about 30 minutes before the talking and laughing seemed to continue through the night.

I was quite fatigued yesterday and did a lot of sleeping. Since my hemoglobin was low the doctor decided to give me a blood transfusion yesterday afternoon. By about 6:00 last night I was feeling pretty good.

I was unhooked from the IV yesterday, it is nice to be able to move around without dragging a pole with me.

Still did not get a big bump on my blood counts.

WBC - .42
ANC - .02
Hemoglobin - 9.8 (Due to blood transfusion)
Platelets - 19 (Due to platelet transfusion)

August 2011 - Day +11

White blood cells are slowly creeping up, not at a rate I was hoping for, but up is better than down.

Platelets dropped to 7 overnight and received my first platelet transfusion. This process took about an hour as the platelets were pumped into my body.

Hemoglobin levels continue to drop, down to 8.4, I am assuming I will receive a blood transfusion tomorrow, I expect these values to continue to fall below 8 sometime today.

WBC - .27
Hemoglobin - 8.4
ANC - 0
Platelets - 7