under control. Mainly, because I rinse my mouth regularly(20+ time/day) with
saline solution. The lower end of the GI tract is treated by wiping with
non-alcoholic baby wipes and applying a special cream...Boston Butt Cream
(Funny name). Yes, I use a rubber glove to apply the cream. May sound kind
of gross to talk about, but after radiation/high dose chemo you have a lot of
diarrhea and it can burn you pretty good down there . Especially, if you
don't take proper precautions. It's also important to take care of your
bottom to reduce infection risks. The inner part of my GI tract (throat,
intestines) is pretty raw but continuing to eat anything possible helps
produce new mucous cells, keeping the GI tract in the best condition it can
be under the circumstances. My skin and lips are pretty dry from radiation
so I apply lotion and use blistex.
The hiccups reoccurred
this afternoon. After taking the Baclavan and the Reglan, combined with sitting upright or walking while concentration on
breathing they finally went away. Laying down, for some reason, causes more
stomach reflux which increases the hiccups. I found singing was helpful
too. Tonight, a group of young people visiting their mom came down to my
room afterwards and we sang praise songs accompanied by guitar. It was
great. A young wife with her baby came down to sing with us to lift her
spirits. Her husband was flown here from Montana to undergo aggressive
treatment for Acute Leukemia. Treatable, but very dangerous. We prayed for
her husband after we sang.
My buddy Kev left this afternoon. We went for a nice walk down by the
Montlake cut for almost an hour with his wife and kids. Such a joy to be
outside during such beautiful weather. Soon I will be outside all the time
playing with my kids, working in the yard, and riding my bike. I'm focused
on those days.
I had a nice visit this afternoon with some former students who attend
school here at the U of W. Rose Gilbert and David Stockman. It was great to
talk about old times. They are both great young adults. It is so rewarding
as a teacher to see former students going in such a positive direction with
their lives.
I spiked a small fever again today. Went up to 38.2 Celsius. Normal is
37. The fever dropped on its own by nighttime. My fevers usually come each
day in the mid afternoon. It is completely normal and they test everything
to be sure I don't have an infection. Most of the fevers are just a natural
response of your body to the transplant , the medication, or your blood
levels. They don't usually find any sources of infection. Which has always
made me happy. I know I'm not out of the woods yet, but I am thankful I
haven't had any serious crisis so far. Keep praying.
When my doctors visited me today they were so pleased with how I was
doing compared to other patients. Dr. Petersdorf said, "You're going to sail
right through this!" I will do everything possible to prove him correct.
Even though my Hematocrit had dropped to 25% and my platelets went down
to 18,000, they decided not to give me any transfusions. I guess, my age and
how I doing so far has made the doctors feel they don't need to transfuse me
as frequently. The fewer the transfusions a person has the better. I am
sure today I will get one though.
I do have a steady supply of antibiotics running through my Hickman.
They take no chances. The antibiotics acyclovir, vancomyocin, and imipenem
are the broad coverage antibiotics and antivirals they use throughout the day
until my counts return to normal. I believe I mentioned this already, but I
do get a daily shot of Growth Hormone to encourage my marrow cells to grow.
Kind of like fertilizer. Given I am five days post transplant, I should be
getting my counts back up in 16 more days. I can't wait.
My boys send me notes, drawings, and cards fairly often. Today, Michelle
brought me a cards and I want to share one from my oldest son, CJ.
Here's what he wrote,