Saturday, May 30, 2009

More Good News

The good news keeps coming from my daily blood labs. My white blood cell count continued to soar over night and is resting at 5.0! Today is the last day I will get the Neupogen shot as well. (The Neupogen stimulates growth of those cells.) The doctors took me off of the IV pumps and are converting those drugs to pill form too. All wonderful signs of my returning home very soon.

Since my hair has begun to fall out pretty bad, I had my sister buzz my head today. I'm officially a q-ball now.

My Mom and my sister are staying with me this weekend. So, it's nice to hang out with them. We're getting caught up on Bones and Dexter.

Friday, May 29, 2009

Great News

After getting two units of blood last night, Katie and I received some very good news. My white blood cell counts soared from .3 to a whopping 1.6! That's a huge comeback in 24 hours. Normal white counts are between 4.0 - 11.0. With this being day 10 past my transplant, I'm supposed to be on the rise slowly with my counts. So a huge jump like this wasn't exactly expected by us. One of the secondary doctors who sees me on a daily basis told me this morning that if I continue to do well, I could be going home early next week! We were very excited about that. But at the same time, I don't want to leave here until I have high enough counts so my risk of getting sick is minimized.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

"Name's Bruce Mate!"

So, I had a dude-nurse all day today named Bruce. Every time I hear the name Bruce I always think of the big-ass shark from Pixar's Finding Nemo.

"I am a nice shark...Not a mindless eatin' machine. If I am to change this image, I must first change myself. Fish are friends, not food."

Ah, that's classic right there.

Anyway...my platelet counts tanked today for some reason. So, as a result, I'll be getting another transfusion tonight. Other tha
n that, I don't have anything new to report. But I did finish another model. Here's a '70 Boss 302 Muskrat...er, I mean Mustang. Example

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Another Day Down...

Today went by fairly uneventful. My wife Katie came back to stay with me for the week. It's relaxing to have her company again.

The past few days I've been experiencing a burning sensation on the bottoms of my feet. I thought it was from the radiation or something, but the doctors tell me it's from this drug called Prograf. I've been getting it since my transplant. It's an anti-rejection type drug. Now, they've got me on another drug to help with the burning. More pills...ugh.

Thanks to my mother 'n law Sue and her si
ster Linda, I have 5 more models to build. So that will help pass the time. And I finished another one today. (Sorry Gene...it's a Chevy. But not to worry, there's another Ford coming in the near future.) This is an '05 Chevy Corvette C5.

Monday, May 25, 2009

More of the Same

Greetings from Chicago. Yes, I'm still here. This past weekend went agonizingly slow. Being here has shown me the value of being at home. I thirst for the outside. My family has tried to stay with me as much as possible, and I'm grateful for their efforts. My wife has been at home since Friday, taking a deserved break from being here. She comes back tomorrow, and I can't wait to see her. Donna came up for the day today and we spent the day watching movies and tv shows. I have discovered that Bones and Dexter are two good shows I've been missing out on.

Last night I needed a platelet transfusion because my levels dropped too low. My hemoglobin is hanging around 9.0, while my white blood cell counts are still at .2. They tell me my white counts should start to climb soon and then I can go home. I cannot wait for that to happen. I'm going stir-crazy here. I've been walking 1/4 mile on the treadmill every day to try and keep my strength up. But I'm still very weak. Even getting dressed in the morning is exhausting.

My doctors say I'm doing great and could be home as early as June 5th. Man, do I hope so.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

More Good News

The good news keeps coming from my daily blood labs. My white blood cell count continued to soar over night and is resting at 5.0! Today is the last day I will get the Neupogen shot as well. (The Neupogen stimulates growth of those cells.) The doctors took me off of the IV pumps and are converting those drugs to pill form too. All wonderful signs of my returning home very soon.

Since my hair has begun to fall out pretty bad, I had my sister buzz my head today. I'm officially a q-ball now.

My Mom and my sister are staying with me this weekend. So, it's nice to hang out with them. We're getting caught up on Bones and Dexter.

Friday, May 29, 2009

Great News

After getting two units of blood last night, Katie and I received some very good news. My white blood cell counts soared from .3 to a whopping 1.6! That's a huge comeback in 24 hours. Normal white counts are between 4.0 - 11.0. With this being day 10 past my transplant, I'm supposed to be on the rise slowly with my counts. So a huge jump like this wasn't exactly expected by us. One of the secondary doctors who sees me on a daily basis told me this morning that if I continue to do well, I could be going home early next week! We were very excited about that. But at the same time, I don't want to leave here until I have high enough counts so my risk of getting sick is minimized.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

"Name's Bruce Mate!"

So, I had a dude-nurse all day today named Bruce. Every time I hear the name Bruce I always think of the big-ass shark from Pixar's Finding Nemo.

"I am a nice shark...Not a mindless eatin' machine. If I am to change this image, I must first change myself. Fish are friends, not food."

Ah, that's classic right there.

Anyway...my platelet counts tanked today for some reason. So, as a result, I'll be getting another transfusion tonight. Other tha
n that, I don't have anything new to report. But I did finish another model. Here's a '70 Boss 302 Muskrat...er, I mean Mustang. Example

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Another Day Down...

Today went by fairly uneventful. My wife Katie came back to stay with me for the week. It's relaxing to have her company again.

The past few days I've been experiencing a burning sensation on the bottoms of my feet. I thought it was from the radiation or something, but the doctors tell me it's from this drug called Prograf. I've been getting it since my transplant. It's an anti-rejection type drug. Now, they've got me on another drug to help with the burning. More pills...ugh.

Thanks to my mother 'n law Sue and her si
ster Linda, I have 5 more models to build. So that will help pass the time. And I finished another one today. (Sorry Gene...it's a Chevy. But not to worry, there's another Ford coming in the near future.) This is an '05 Chevy Corvette C5.

Monday, May 25, 2009

More of the Same

Greetings from Chicago. Yes, I'm still here. This past weekend went agonizingly slow. Being here has shown me the value of being at home. I thirst for the outside. My family has tried to stay with me as much as possible, and I'm grateful for their efforts. My wife has been at home since Friday, taking a deserved break from being here. She comes back tomorrow, and I can't wait to see her. Donna came up for the day today and we spent the day watching movies and tv shows. I have discovered that Bones and Dexter are two good shows I've been missing out on.

Last night I needed a platelet transfusion because my levels dropped too low. My hemoglobin is hanging around 9.0, while my white blood cell counts are still at .2. They tell me my white counts should start to climb soon and then I can go home. I cannot wait for that to happen. I'm going stir-crazy here. I've been walking 1/4 mile on the treadmill every day to try and keep my strength up. But I'm still very weak. Even getting dressed in the morning is exhausting.

My doctors say I'm doing great and could be home as early as June 5th. Man, do I hope so.