Day +10
I felt pretty good most of the day today. It seems I have fallen into this pattern of starting to feel a bit worse at about 5:00 PM, my temperature goes up some, and I lose my appetite. Last night I felt pretty good again by the time I went to sleep and so I slept well; I hope that happens again tonight. I wasn’t as sleepy today as the last several days. The good news is that my counts are going up as they predicted and this is due to my new bone marrow. For those of you who have been following my counts, you’ll see that the WBC and ANC are both up substantially and I am no longer considered neutropenic. It is normal for the hemoglobin and platelets to take longer to bounce back for a couple of reasons. One, they are longer lasting cells, and two, I’ve been getting Neupogen to encourage the production of white blood cells. The doctor says that if things continue to go well, I could be home on Wednesday – no promises.
The infection in my blood that I got over the weekend appears to be a bit problematic. It turns out that it is a gram-negative bacteria (I don’t know the name of it) which means that it is quite resistant to antibiotics. The infectious disease doctor who came to see me today said that it is also not a particularly nasty bacteria in that it doesn’t generally cause severe illness. I think it is also a fairly common bacteria found on the skin and the problem it is creating here besides making me a little sick is that it is a big danger to other patients in this bone marrow transplant ward. The result is that they put me in “isolation” meaning people that come in have to be gowned and gloved so they don’t carry the infection elsewhere. So while people don’t have to wear masks anymore (because I’m not neutropenic), they have to wear gowns and gloves. I think the fact that I felt so well for much of the day is indicative that the antibiotics (and maybe my new neutrophils) are winning the battle against the bacteria.
WBC 2.0
Hgb 8.3
Plt 29
ANC 1.2
Not counting chickens, but Wednesday is the day after tomorrow …
The infection in my blood that I got over the weekend appears to be a bit problematic. It turns out that it is a gram-negative bacteria (I don’t know the name of it) which means that it is quite resistant to antibiotics. The infectious disease doctor who came to see me today said that it is also not a particularly nasty bacteria in that it doesn’t generally cause severe illness. I think it is also a fairly common bacteria found on the skin and the problem it is creating here besides making me a little sick is that it is a big danger to other patients in this bone marrow transplant ward. The result is that they put me in “isolation” meaning people that come in have to be gowned and gloved so they don’t carry the infection elsewhere. So while people don’t have to wear masks anymore (because I’m not neutropenic), they have to wear gowns and gloves. I think the fact that I felt so well for much of the day is indicative that the antibiotics (and maybe my new neutrophils) are winning the battle against the bacteria.
WBC 2.0
Hgb 8.3
Plt 29
ANC 1.2
Not counting chickens, but Wednesday is the day after tomorrow …
2 Comments:
Hey Justin
I'm sure you were very eager to see this set of counts - so was I. I' very happy for you that the first up tick was followed up with a good increase.
Where are the counts headed - what is "normal"?
It is interesting that your new immune system gets put right to work. It would seem, by allowing visitors, that this is an intended, controlled risk. They must want you to face limited chances of infection.
Love you, David
Hey Justin,
It's good to hear that you felt pretty good yesterday and that your counts are starting to go back up. I am also glad to hear that you are putting up a good battle against the bacteria. You are in my thoughts and prayers each day and I am glad to be reading good things.
Love,
Kirstie
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