Days 1-3

The last post ended with the comment that just the applesauce made it down and that a little nausea is not so bad.  Well, the applesauce did not stay down, and the net effect of cookie-tossing is pretty unpleasant.  The doctors have now put me on a ‘preventative’ dose of Zofran, the anti-nausea medicine.  When I want to eat something, I can ask for additional Ativan, which I took over the summer as Lorazepam, which both controlled nausea and helped me sleep when I was on the steroids.

The food intake has been pretty minimal.  Day 1 I tried starting off with a cup of apple juice.  It stayed down no more than 15 minutes.  Later with the help of the anti-nausea medicines some chicken broth served as lunch.  Then some raspberry Italian ice was supper.  Day 2 featured a piece of toast with tea.  That seemed to work well, so Day 3 I had 2 pieces of toast with tea.  The nurses are just as interested in what I pass.  I will spare you those details.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Sandy came through.  It was quite a non-event here in my isolation chamber.  But it did knock down a rotten tree in a strategic place at our place in Stow, so we sent out an appeal to LotsOfHelpingHands for males with chainsaws to help.  The response was overwhelming, and the job was taken care of the very next day:

They claim nobody even lost any fingers!  Anybody who needs any firewood, the Jones property has an unlimited supply of unsplit wood.

I am extremely impressed by the staff here at Beth Israel.  Responsive, helpful, cheerful, knowledgeable, and friendly.  So this blog has adopted a policy of trying to record everyone who helps out as an oblique way of saying thank-you.

Here is Nurse Bridget with an array of packaged foods that an immune-compromised patient can eat.  [Whether one wants to or not is a different question.]

Here is Primary Care Technician Sara taking my vital signs.  Vital signs consist of blood pressure, temperature, pulse, & blood oxygenation.  So far I seem to be staying alive.

Here is nurse Tatiana seeing if I still have a pulse:

Here is the meal I was able to keep down.  You decide which thing in this picture is toast:

Here is the medical team that makes the rounds every morning: Fellow Anish Sharda, some old guy, Attending Physician Vicki Boussiotis, and Resident Randy Goldberg:

Here is PCT Marie checking my blood pressure with a great smile:

Here is Nurse Julie who just delivered my blood counts for the period 10/26 – 11/2:

The blood counts will be the subject of my next blog.

Judy Wagoner is the Nurse Practitioner who dealt with me in the outpatient clinic.  She had a meeting here at the Bone Marrow Transplant center, so she came by to check up on me:

The biggest surprise on Day 3 was the state of my tongue.  They warn you that the cells in your mouth and GI tract are some of the fastest dividing cells in your body, so they are greatly affected by the Melphalan.  The result for the tongue is that it turns white.  Seeing that cadaverous tongue has inspired me to be extra diligent with the mouthwash for cleaning the mouth and the lozenges they give you to disinfect the mouth and GI tract.
I have had a steady stream of visitors, headed by Barbie, Brian, & Bridget.  A certain amount of cards has been played, and no quarter has been given.  Barbie & I even struggled to an exact tie in Pounce.  So life goes on, but the chemo is beginning to have an impact.