Day Zero Plus Six – Sneezy, Sleepy, Dopey and Doc

Jeff was told this was a “stay-in-bed day” because his platelets were at 5,000.  No biking is permitted if his platelets are lower than 10,000.  One of the staff hollered into his room, “Hi, Lance!”    When Jeff told me this, I thought, “Oh, no!  They’re going to give you someone else’s platelets!”  Then I realized Jeff earned this nickname for his stellar effort of biking maybe 1½ hours total in five days.

Dr. Porter stopped by to say he thought Jeff was doing well.  Everything Jeff is experiencing is expected.  He offered suggestions for food that might be more appealing and provide more calories and nutrition.  He said, “You are like a child who has had his tonsils out; we don’t care what you eat as long as you are eating something.”  Well, that’s the tricky part. 

Nurse Beth hung the first of two bags of platelets and, as soon as they began going in, Jeff’s eyes started to itch.  Then he started to sneeze and sneeze.  Beth was still in the room, working on the computer.  Jeff said, “I really think something is going on here.”  I noticed his eyes getting really red and puffy.  I said (I may have hollered a little), “You’re eyes are swelling up!  His eyes are swelling up!”  He’d already been given some Benadryl prophylactically because evidently it is not uncommon for patients to have a reaction to a blood donor’s platelets.  This hadn’t happened with any of his other platelet transfusions.  Beth gave him more Benadryl.  It was quite exciting!  The sacks under his eyes became suitcases, large and flaming red, then things subsided a little and then they’d enlarge again and so on.  Eventually, the excitement was over and he slept

Dr. Perl came in just moments after the additional Benadryl was given.  He said that he was “Doc” and Jeff was both “Sneezy” and “Sleepy” and maybe “Bashful” or maybe just “Dopey” because he couldn’t answer the questions posed to him too well.  Dr. Perl and the student doctors checked for hives; there were none. 

Although Jeff had eaten breakfast, he threw up his oral antibiotic at lunchtime and was really too sleepy to be interested in food the rest of the day.  Another small dose of the antibiotic was given to replace the dose he’d thrown up.  This antibiotic is preferred in its oral form for treatment of C Diff.  Still, they may have to give it through the IV.  He will probably be put on TPN (IV nutrition) tomorrow because he just isn’t eating enough.  He has lost six pounds.

I gave him a back rub today and asked whether his drugged sleep was providing an opportunity to sort out his psychedelic dream.  He said, “No.”  However, he was able to tell me more about the dream.  He said there was a green X on some of the stones in “the stone bag” and “he” (one of the stones with the green X) was like a taxi driver whose job it was to show Jeff around to see the other stones.  I think he said the stones represented aspects of his disease and recovery.  He also rubbed his feet on some sticks and the sticks turned into “fluff” which he thought represented people in his donor’s family.  Wow!  Heavy, man!

I hope the platelets will help him to feel better tomorrow.