Wednesday, July 9 - Land Ho!!

Without having to squint to hard, there is clearly a light at the end of the tunnel today. In fact it is big and bright, we can see it plain as day. Chris got the green light we have been waiting for and we are heading home this weekend. As Marv Albert would say: "YES"!!!

Overall things are good enough and Chris successfully lobbied for a discharge and she got it. So unless things change dramatically, we'll be home by Saturday. We most likely will have to come back for one day next week, but that works for us.
Her numbers are as follows:

Measurement / Chris / Normal Range / Result
WBC (white) /5.8/ 4.0 - 11.0 / Normal
RBC (red) / 3.2/ 4.2 - 5.4 / LOW
HGB (Hemoglobin) / 10 / 12 - 16 / LOW
Platelet / 102 / 150 - 400 / LOW but significant improvement

So the white blood cells and the platelets were the key measurements, and they are either within range, or rapidly going in that direction. Clearly, the stem cells have grafted into the bone marrow and Chris is now producing the blood cells on her own, after a long 18 days (clearly these stem cells took their time kicking into gear).

They also removed the chest catheter today. Very interesting. The doctor who did it said that I could stay if I promised not to pass out. I told her she must be kidding, as not only did I want to watch, but I wanted to actually do the removal procedure myself. I guess I have not fully earned my place on the medical team as I got a pretty direct "NO" to my request. The catheter is literally just pulled out. It is a 14 inch tube that went up to her neck and down her jugular vein into her right atrium in her heart. They simply pull it. I at least asked to keep it as a memento - no go on that request either.

So, assuming everything goes OK the next two days, we are "outta here". Five weeks have sometimes seemed like 5 months, but we have it so much easier than 99% of the patients who are hundreds or thousands of miles from their home and families.

So that is all good news. There is some bad news. Chris continues to experience vomiting. Nobody can get it under control, and she has no appetite. She keeps having a craving for something (raspberry sorbet, Hostess cupcakes, spaghetti), I run to the store to get it, and by the time I return and she sees it, it makes her vomit thinking of it. She is down to 101 pounds, and based on what she is eating and not keeping down, she will most likely be under 100 in the next day or two. The doctors explain that her reaction to the chemo is in her GI track and that this will eventually resolve itself. However, they also told her that she better start eating more or her recovery will be much longer as she won't have the nourishment to get into shape. Yet, as we all know, you can't make a nauseous person eat, no matter how much you plead. So, I guess the trick is to let the GI system recover on it's own, and not to push her. I do wonder if it is my cooking that is the problem here, and I am starting to take it a little bit personally, but in the end I know that no matter who cooks it, she just can't stomach it.

So we have a ticket for this weekend, her blood counts are up and we have prevented infection (the biggest risk) and now we just need to get her stomach settled and start the rebuilding process. We can't give a sigh of relief yet by any means, but we can certainly feel very positive about the progress. It has been long row to hoe, but I expect some blooming soon.