Every thing is going ok. Not great :( Although nothing has been unexpected. John is just at the high end as far as his nausea. It has been really really bad. He could not keep anything down and was only consuming a few hundred calories a day. He never got nauseas on any of his chemo meds before the transplant. But the chemo they use to kill his cells before the transplant is so much stronger and much higher doses. Yesterday they had to start John on a liquid IV nutrient. It looks like milk is going into his central line. But for a few days he won't have to worry about eating and puking it up.
I brought 4 of the kids to see him on Sunday. Michael has a runny nose and was not able to come :( It was good for them all to see each other, but it is hard for the kids to be in this little hospital room for very long. So we only stayed about an hour. We went on a walk and then the kids played on the Wii for a little bit. Saturday night there was a nice storm, but I really wanted to see John. So I brought the suburban and braved the roads, saw like 6 accidents and drove pretty slow the whole time. But I made it safely. I only stayed about 2 hours. John is always weak and tired. He was just not doing very good Saturday night and wanted to sleep.
Yesterday I was here from about 9:30-5:30. John was super tired and rested most of the day. I got him to go on 2 short walks and eat a little (this was before the IV nutrients started). He has trouble staying awake to even have a "real" conversation.
This morning I got here about 11 am. I had to take all the kids to a dentist appt this morning. Even though he was up most of the night puking and with diarrhea, he was feeling ok when I got here. We have gone on a very short walk, and played a game of gyn rummy and he ate a little soup.
Every thing is "normal" for what he has gone through. Luckily he does not have any mouth sores and we are really hoping he does not get them. He has not had any infections yet either, which is good. It is really hard to see John not him self. No desire to eat or talk or get up and move around. I have not seen him smile in days - he will kind of give me a fake half smile. He has lost some weight, but no idea how much. It is hard to tell because he is also on a sodium chloride drip for hydration.
It is hard for the kids, but they are doing ok. I am so grateful for my sisters who spoil them a little while they are here helping. Lauren just left yesterday. They had so much fun with her and cousin Lyndie. Now Blair is here. I am glad that I do not have to rush home to get kids from school. Days I have to do that I am only able to be here at the hospital for 5 hours or so. The kids really miss John. And we all can't wait for him to be home. We are hoping he is able to come home in 2 weeks - but that is super optimistic :) It might be 3 more weeks. The magic number is his nutra fills. That number has to be at 500. But first it has to hit 0 and then work its way back up. Today it was around 40 on its way down.
We are just starting his second week here in the hospital. Week 2 is always the worst as far as side effects and energy levels. We both know that it will get better - just taking it one day at a time.
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