Friday, January 13, 2012

So far, so good

Just got home from the mobilization. It went just fine. I have yet to experience any nausea. I received Zofran and e-mend as anti- nausea agents and they are working just fine. I also received several bags of saline fluid and gained 9 lbs of water weight. Consequently, the only time I feel like I don't have to pee is when I'm peeing. But this too shall pass. Overall, I'm very pleased with how this has all turned out. Haven't lost one follicle of hair yet, but I'm told that will start in about 10 days. Meanwhile, I'm pretty much back to normal. Planning to play tennis on Saturday. Perhaps an easy bike ride tomorrow. Drinking ginger ale as a treat...ginger being a known tummy tamer and even better when combined with bubbles.

Quick refresher, the purpose of the mobilization is to move my stem cells from the bone marrow and into the circulating blood. Cytoxan is the drug of choice for this and, is has the secondary benefit of killing any cancer cells that it encounters along the way. In the dose I received, Cytoxan will cause my blood counts to drop well below the normal range...the technical term is myelosuppression. By the end of next week, my white blood cell count will be low and I will be at risk for infection. Laura, my lovely transplant coordinator, did every thing but put a stamp on my forehead making me swear to get right to the hospital if I begin to feel the least bit feverish. Meanwhile, we will begin following Howard Hughes-style germ phobic behaviors around here. There will be a bottle of Purex at the front door for all visitors. I need to make sure all my foods are properly washed and cooked. And I need to stay out of public places, nursery schools, and Lee Ruttenberg's house.

I intend to post more frequently now that there is more action. I may not get around to emailing when I post like I usually do. So I encourage you to stop back here periodically for updates if you are so inclined. This is one of 3 posts I have done since I last put out an email prompt. Please also note that is is much easier to post replies than it used to be on the old site. Try it!

6 comments:

  1. 'But this too shall pass.' One of the more subtle puns I've heard lately. Rock on! (-geoff)

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  2. This is sounding okay, Ed. Especially the possibility of tennis or a bike ride this weekend.

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  3. Uncle Eddie,
    Smart thing to have a bottle of Purex for all visitors!!
    ....said very well by a school teacher! ;-)
    Also bike ride & tennis sound great! It just snowed today here in Chicago..supposed to be around 21 in the day & feels like 9 degrees. Enjoy your bike ride for me.
    Glad to know how your doing well. Keep it up!
    We ALL LOVE YOU!!!!!!
    Love your blog!!!

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  4. So far, so good - yeah! Thanks for the e-mail today. It really helped me to relax. Just keep me up to date as to what's going on. So glad you're feeling so well. Enjoy your tennis game and bike ride. Love you!

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  5. Let's go for a bIke ride this weekend. Good idea to stay away from Lee's house. ; )

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  6. You look great, Ed! Been there--done that! Best from your Badger friends Pat and Pattie down in Florida...

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