I tried to keep a journal of what was happening each day. From Monday, Dec. 14, through Thursday, Dec. 24, I did pretty well, except I made no entries on the 22nd and 23rd. A few days after they passed, I wrote for days Dec. 26 through Dec. 29, "Blur." On Wed., Dec. 30 I wrote, "1 unit red blood?"
Thursday, Dec. 31 I wrote, "Started losing hair, platelets, 1 unit red blood." Then on Friday, Jan. 1, I wrote, "Coughing up red gunk. Breathing labored." That day I was moved to the ICU unit, a milestone. I stayed there a week and do not remember much of that week.
Another milestone is that Be came back to Houston on Wednesday, Jan. 6. You cannot imagine how glad I was to see her. The next milestone was the following Friday. I was supposed to move into a part of the hospital for which the care was between the ICU and the 11th floor stem-cell transplant area. But I ended up back on the 11th floor, and in the same room I was in before. Amazing.
Then I needed to start gaining strength by walking and doing other exercises. I could barely walk, and the first time I tried, my male nurse held onto a belt around my waist and Be followed with a chair on wheels in case I needed to sit down quickly. My legs felt like trees. It was difficult to get them to move. I worked hard, and on the following Tuesday, my doctor said, " I think it is time to get you out of the hospital." I could not believe it, and I was actually afraid (lack of faith) that it was too soon. But I left the hospital on Thursday, January 14, and the doctor was correct. I have been making steady progress since then.
In the hospital, I was constantly getting infusions of all kinds of medication. Since I left, much of this medication has to be taken orally. Here are the original 9 different medications and the schedule for my taking them.
On Saturday, January 17, we moved into an apartment that is close to M D Anderson. This apartment is a part of the ministry of the Kingwood Church of Christ, and is a great blessing. Below are pictures of me on the couch and half of the kitchen.
We continue to go to the hospital daily to get infusions of certain medications and to have my blood tested. A big part of what I must do now is gain strength and keep from getting infections. I have developed a runny nose, and that is possibly not good. But a nasal washing (yep, it is as bad as it sounds) came back with negative results, and Be's nose often runs when mine does, so we are just tolerating it.
Since leaving the hospital, I have not had to have any infusion of blood products, nor a shot of the white blood cell stimulator Neupogen. That means that the transplant is making progress in taking over the production of my blood. That is tremendous.The final milestone I will mention is that I have been given permission to eat fresh fruit if it has thick skin. I am enjoying bananas and watermelon for the first time since the end of April. Yum, yum.
Please keep praying for me. Your prayers are having a great affect. Thank you!
