Day +7; my marrow is a week old!

As expected, my platelets dropped low enough that I needed a platelet transfusion this morning (9K). Since my allergic reaction in January, I now have to be pre-medicated with Benadryl before getting platelets. It was a sleepy morning. I was woken at 4 for vitals, 5:30 for pre-meds, 6:00 for the transfusion, about 7:00 for orthostatic blood pressure... Benadryl completely knocks me out, so I was falling asleep while getting my blood pressure taken. I slept through my 7:00 Zoom social, which made me sad. I was too sleepy to do an early shower, as I had been doing, and even at noon I was still feeling the effects. Ick... I think my visualization tonight will include extra platelet manufacturing vibes!

I was able to figure out a temporary fix for the hospital gown issue. I have been wearing strappy tanks since my explant last summer, and they are stretchy enough that they will stay up with only one strap but I can step out of them and it won't impact the PICC line. It's a little chilly (bare shoulders), but so superior to hospital gowns that I am fine with it. And no itchies last night!

When I did my afternoon laps today, I was greeted by a cheering team from PT:

Pom-poms and cheering

I got a completion certificate, a gift certificate for two free yoga classes, and this cool t-shirt

And this medal that's on my door so all the other patients can be encouraged to complete it. :)

Today was Dr. Shaw's last day of her rotation (the transplant doctors rotate weeks), and she's not back until mid-June, so I may not see her again. I have really enjoyed seeing her every morning--she is obviously brilliant, and also great at listening and explaining things. She would talk about non-medical things with me, sharing stories about her family and interests (she's a swimmer), and remember what I'd said about my life. It was a little like a morning coffee with a friend every day. And I'll miss her.

As I keep ticking off days, I am reminded that I was told, in general, that the first week in the hospital wouldn't be awful--just getting chemo and figuring out the routine. That I should feel pretty good. And then I'd get my transplant and feel pretty good for about a week, too, as the chemo wouldn't have completely knocked everything out yet, and my new cells wouldn't be engrafted yet. And then the week after that week would be a rough one--knocked out by the chemo and no new immune system yet. Mucositis, low counts, transfusions, fatigue, loss of appetite, etc. Today starts that rough week. My mouth is much more sore as of today and it hurts a bit to talk. I am still eating, but hot foods (like my beloved soup) are more painful than comforting now. I'm a little worried about what this next week plus will bring, but I am thrilled that I'm at this point now. I've made it this far, and the only way to get through it is to go through it, so here we go! (And maybe it won't be as bad as I fear.)