Journal for 2/21

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Sunday, five days out of transplant. Yesterday, my Hematocrit was 22% and
platelets were 7,000. I was tired. Due to the low counts, I was given one
unit of platelets(100-300 ml ) and two units of blood (250 ml/unit).
Interesting fact, it takes six donors to get enough platelets to fill one
unit. For one unit of blood it only takes one person. Patients usually have
reactions (chills, coughing, itching) from platelets due to the fact they
are from 6 different people, increasing the number of different antibodies
(chemicals in blood which help kill infections) the platelet recipient is
exposed to. I began coughing when they gave me platelets. To stop this
they gave me benadryl and hydrocortisone, medicines which help reduce
reactions to the platelets. When you give blood you usually give one unit.
Total blood volume in your body ranges from 4.7-7.6 Liters (5-8 quarts).
Eating continues to go well. I am consuming about 2,000 calories per
day. I eat slowly and am selective about the foods I eat. I like noodle
soups, cream of wheat, cooked vegetables, mashed potatoes, juices, bottled
water, and my favorite: ice cream. I stay away from foods which irritate my
GI tract. I continue washing out my mouth with saline solution to prevent mouth sores. Drinking Sucralfate, a medication which soothes the esophagus, helps me swallow much easier.
I had many visitors today. I was disappointed I couldn't talk much. I was pretty strung out on benadryl. My Pastor and his wife, Julie, came up and we had a short communion service. Loren and Sally Bartels, friends from church, came up with our boys. My boys were all wound up and I was too drugged up during my transfusion to really enjoy them. We played a game of UNO and they raided my snack box. Michelle took the boys out for a walk.
They like playing on the climbing walls over by Husky Stadium. Before they left we prayed together and I blessed them. I can't wait to be home. Bruce Stebnitz, from church, came up to participate in our service. The Hostetter family, Brad & Karen Robinson, Jeffrey and Vicki Bartels, and my sister Charlie and her husband, Ken, all came up today. Michelle will stay with me again tonight. She is always by my side...for better or for worse. What a
blessing a good marriage is.

I would like to share an excerpt from a story a friend forwarded me. It's about what a man going through cancer learned from a baby going through cancer:

A booming voice interrupts my reverie. The nurse summons the mother and baby
into hell(chemotherapy). Simultaneously the bouncing and laughing of the baby cease. The mother picks up her son. As they walk past me, I look at the
baby once more. He is completely calm. His eyes are bright and there is an
expression of complete trust on his tiny face. I know that I will never
forget that expression.
On this particular Thursday, many months into a seemingly endless series of
my own chemotherapy treatments, I learned a lesson from a little baby. He
changed my life. He taught me that anger, tears, and sadness are only for
those who have given up. He also taught me to trust. This I will carry with
me always. Today, my little hero is doing fine. His last treatment is in
sight and his future looks bright. Through this baby I learned to trust.
Everyone, some sooner than others, must endure his or her own personal
challenge. It is important to keep searching for the small joys, although
they are sometimes the most elusive. Trust that these joys will appear,
sometimes unexpectedly, and often in life's darkest moments. For instance, in
the smile on a baby face.

In the last month or so I have learned to trust. I have learned to trust
in the Lord for strength and comfort. I have learned to focus on the joys of
life, such as time with my family, riding my bike, or being with a good
friend. I hope people reading my journals will not only become educated
about bone marrow transplants, but they will learn to trust and have hope in
their own difficult times. Hope is the opposite of fear, and to me, hope is
much more effective in overcoming life's challenges.

My verse for today: "Turn all of your burdens over to the Lord. And he
will take care of you. Psalm 55:22a

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