Category: Duke

Labs

4

My WBC was 1.3 today, which is quite an improvement over yesterday (0.3).  My nurse tells me it wouldn’t be a stretch for it be double that tomorrow.  I could be going home as early as Friday.  I hope I can.

I’m 46 years old, but it bothers me that my parents don’t call every day to see how I am.  In my fantasy, they would call to ask my sister how things went every day.  They would even ask to talk to me. My mom, who lives about an hour away, would come to visit often.  The truth is, if I say nothing, they won’t even know when I’ve returned home.

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Day +11

2

It’s been 11 days since the first day my stem cells were infused. Time seems to be passing by very slowly, which can be torture at times.

I’ve been having some issues at home, which make me wish I was out of here and back home. My dog is going to be boarded Monday, I hope, which will resolve one of the problems I have. My housesitter has been unreliable, and I’ve found out that my dog has been left alone some nights. I also found out that my cat was left shut in a room for at least a day with no way out. It’s too hard to have to worry about getting better and what’s happening (or not happening) at home.

I called my neighbors, and they’ll keep an eye on things for me.

Other than that, I can report that my WBC went up yesterday to 0.3 from 0.2. My platelets were low at 14, and my HGB was 9.6.

Overall, I feel ok. I’m tired, so I just sleep when I need to. The mucositis is getting a little better. Not so much in the lower GI area, but better in mouth and throat.  Oh, except that I hurt my throat this morning on a sharp piece of English muffin.  The English make some dangerous food, so beware.

I’ve had some very strange problems with two of my toes.  They’re extremely black & blue.  I’ll have pictures, of course.

I’ll get my labs soon, I hope, so I can report on today’s results.

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Day +9

2

I had some good news today.  My white count doubled!  It went from 0.1 to 0.2.  Progress is being made.

I need platelets and potassium today, so I’m going to get hooked up and I’ll write more later.

Joyce is in treatment area B, too, but she’s in a room by herself.  I think that’s meant to protect us all from the icky stem cell smell.  My new nickname for her is “stinky.”

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Day +8

3

Things are progressing. I haven’t received my labs yet, but I feel pretty well. I suppose that’s a good sign. I’m hoping my white count is on its way back up. We’ve been working on that during Reiki. The WBC was still 0.1. Oh well, what can I do but wait? Here’s a little audio. SCT Day +8 I’ve had mucositis. This is not fun. It hasn’t been terrible, but is less comfortable. I have some mouth/throat sores and some GI problems. So far, I haven’t had to resort to pain meds.

This is a story about being asked for a stool sample. This is a PG-13 story. I added this on January 4, 2008.  You can hear that I have a cold during the time I recorded this.

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Day +5

4

It’s day +5.  My WBC is now 1.7. Not much happened today. I got some fluids. My blood pressure was pretty low.

Amy asked how the re-infusion went.  I hated that part. She mentioned that was a prime opportunity for nausea to creep in. I had some Zofran, Ativan and some oxycodone in my IV.  If you even anticipate needing these things, make sure you get them.  Also, ask for a slow infusion.  There’s less discomfort that way.

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