Day +32

I hadn't posted since making it home two weeks ago because not much was happening. I'd been healing, albeit slowly. My counts dropped the week I went home (since the neupogen shot had falsely increased them) and I needed another neupogen shot, but since that time they've all been at or near normal levels.

After a few days home, when my platelets were solidly above 50K, I was cleared to bike. I started slow (5 miles) but built up and on Wednesday Travis and I rode almost 12 miles! It felt great and I was sure that I'd turned the corner and my energy and stamina was coming back.

Me & Trav at the Oak Leaf Trail closure on the Zip Line

Thursday was day +30 and the day I started Bactrim, which is an antibiotic to prevent a potential pneumonia that can occur post-transplant. I was a bit worried about adding yet another med to my routine because antibiotics tend to mess with my stomach. I took the first dose at 7:30 am and by 9:30, when it was time to leave for my lab appointment (which I was cleared to drive myself to), I felt icky enough that I asked Greg to drive me.

Both Thursday and Friday I just felt yucky, for lack of a more technical term. My stomach was definitely upset and I had no appetite. But more than that, I was exhausted beyond belief. I kept falling asleep in the recliner. I could barely walk up stairs and finally on Friday I stumbled out into the yard to look at my garden, but even that "trip" was exhausting. I'd gotten the chills and taken my temperature Thursday night and it was 99.8. That's feverish, but not enough to warrant a call to the doctor (that's reserved for over 100.4). I slept restlessly, and stayed away from the thermometer overnight because if I don't KNOW what my temp is, I don't have to do anything about it, right?

Friday morning my temp was back to 99.0. Again, just general yuckiness. Friday about 5:00 I got the chills again and when I took my temp, it was 100.2. By 7:15 it was either 100.4 or 100.9, depending on which thermometer I used. So I called.

Because I was not having any urgent symptoms of infection, I was given the option of going into the 24 hour clinic Friday night or at 8:00 am Saturday morning, as long as I watched my temp and it didn't go much higher. I chose Saturday morning.

So today I had the full infection workup: blood cultures x 6; regular labs, urinalysis and culture, chest x-ray, etc. The PA on call said that none of the quick results indicated an infection (the cultures take 24 hours +), but it still might be a low grade infection, so they wanted to put me on antibiotics. She said it could be given orally (ugh--another oral med) or via IV (which would mean hospital admission). She called Dr. Hamadani, and he said that he wanted me admitted.

So here I am. I was initially sad that I wasn't sent back to 9CFAC (I'm now on 7CFAC) so I could see the nurses and CNAs from my transplant stay, but it's actually kind of nice to be somewhere different. I was feeling some trauma at the thought of going back to where I'd spent those 25 lonely days, and even though I know this shouldn't be as long, I was sure I'd have a tough time with it. So I have a different view out my window, a slightly different (but just as large) hospital room, and as of June 3, patients on the oncology floors are allowed one visitor during their entire stay. Greg was able to come spend time with me this afternoon. However, while he was here, he asked the NP why they hadn't done a COVID-19 test on me, which prompted--you guessed it--me getting a COVID-19 test. I'm beginning to re-think choosing him as my one visitor!

Protocol says that I need to stay in the hospital until I no longer have a fever plus 24 hours, although apparently the doctor on rounds this week is "very conservative" and may make me stay until I'm 24 hours fever-free without the antibiotic. Either way, it should only be a matter of days for this stay.

One of the things that my labs showed was that I was dehydrated. So they gave me a liter of IV fluids, and I started to feel somewhat better after that. Then I got my first dose of IV antibiotic (with more fluids) this afternoon, took a nap, and feel LOTS better. I'm certainly not 100%, but I feel so much better than I have for several days. As much as I did not want to be here, it seems to be exactly where I needed to be.