Two Weeks In

July 8, 2023

Not much to say about this second week in the hospital. Things have been going well and I have generally felt OK. I’ve been more tired and needed more blood and platelet transfusions, but otherwise trying to stay drama free. No nausea, no pain, just hanging in there! Strangely enough, I’m on a bit of a soft food diet. Doc wants me to stay away from any mouth sores; I didn’t quite understand the risks of toast before! I had to send back home some beloved chips and crispy snacks, but I’ll survive with my applesauce and pancakes.

The bone marrow biopsy happened yesterday on schedule and it went just fine. The nurses there were super sweet and packed me a little goody bag of their best snacks to take back to my room. I’m a little sore now, but that’s to be expected.

You may be surprised, but I’ve been able to keep somewhat active in the hospital, even without leaving the unit. A lap around the oncology ward is 1/16 of a mile, and I aim to get in 2 miles per day. Apparently that helps to keep my lungs clear and any swelling in my ankles down, and just with general mobility because I CAN’T GO ANYWHERE.

Going forward, I’m looking to stay infection free. My white blood count continues to fall, but from my read of the blood counts, it can’t fall much further! Gradually the counts should start to recover this third week, and I understand they will let me go home once I reach a level of “1” for my absolute neutrophil count. Right now I’m at 0.04, so I have a little ways to go!

Included is a photo from my 9th floor room I took around 9:15 pm on the 4th. (For those interested, from Fairfax, I'm looking at Annandale, then Springfield, and off into the horizon Alexandria. To the right is "greater" Fairfax on to Burke Lake.) It's a great view - some traffic, and during the daytime, lots of green - and I got to see about a hundred of different celebrations from this perch. They were all just over the horizon, but way more interesting than a usual night here. I also get to see storms sweeping through, helicopters, and people acting normally!

Thanks for all the texts and prayers and good thoughts. They must be working!