Day Zero Plus Seven - Half-way?

For all the trouble Jeff had getting his platelets yesterday, they sure helped!  He had a count of 5,000 yesterday and 81,000 today.  He biked 20 minutes, going as fast as 24 kilometers per hour at his fastest.  Harry visited all morning and Jeff stayed awake, alert and able to converse the entire time. 

Jeff was not put on TPN today.  He was able to have a good, normal breakfast, Pop Tarts and milk for lunch, raspberry ice and banana in the afternoon, and a few peanut butter crackers for dinner.   

I pointed out to Nurse Tom that we were told PT would visit on Tuesday or Wednesday but we hadn’t seen anyone all week.  Tom said, “Of all the people on the floor, Jeff needs PT the least.”  I guess that means he is doing well although I thought a visit from PT was more appropriate for someone as “fit” as Jeff since he is trying to exercise when he can. 

We had an interesting conversation with Nurse Tom.  He saw the Old House Journal magazine cover with Jeff’s Stockton kitchen on it and became very excited.  He said he used to be a hospital administrator and dealt with architects and designers a lot.  He said his third career might have been in historic renovations.  He mentioned a few Philadelphia area renovations that he admired, one on Drexel’s campus.

Dr. Perl and his student doctors all seem very pleased with Jeff’s progress.  All issues he is having (hiccups, elbow pain, sore mouth, nausea, loss of appetite, etc.) are all expected and manageable.  His tacrolimus levels will continue to be monitored so that, hopefully, nausea won’t be as big an issue as it had been.

Kim pointed out that today is potentially the half-way point, if a 4-week hospital stay is all that is required.  Jeff is not particularly aware of what day of the week it is but he is starting to ask regularly, “How much longer?”  and “Is engraftment next week?”  Engraftment will probably occur somewhere around June 14^th – so, no, not next week.  He has some anxiety about engraftment and I know he will be very, very relieved when his new cells are functioning well for him. 

Kim and Kerry visited in the evening.  On Jeff’s instruction, Kim and I purchased an IPad for him tonight.  We had been trying to persuade him that he needed one and he has finally agreed that it would be useful.  Kim is setting it up as I write and she is very excited – and a little jealous – that he has such a cool toy. 

I tend to focus on Jeff’s bone marrow donor as the helper-of-the-year (which she is!) but many blood donors have also helped.  I think I take blood products for granted because I donate whole blood and platelets and lots of other people do, too.  Without whole blood and platelets, Jeff wouldn’t have been able to have the bone marrow transplant.