Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Engraftment Time

T-Sabs asked me "so how long did your Dr. have to go to Harvard for in order to figure out to put a 5lb weight on your chest to try and clot your Hickman?"  Pretty funny when you think about it.

 Lonis surprise stopped in on his way back home to Burlington, looked at the 5 pounder on my chest and said "ya know?"  Thanks Loni.
 My Hickman Line finally clotted up on Sunday night and Monday morning I woke up feeling pretty all time.  Up, first coffee since Friday, pills went down, ate a good breakfast and then Lisa and I walked for 50 minutes and got in 2 miles in the hallway.  Got some of this and that done and then watch the Seahawk Lions game.  Did another mile at halftime and it was time to lay down and lay awake looking at the ceiling for the next 8 hours.  Maybe an hour sleep.
Tuesday was on the same tip as Monday, killer day and my time was filled with visitors.  Logic, Jess, Pile Kyle and Tonto all killed enormous amounts of the day providing a very large smile.  Again I laid down, and looked at the ceiling for 8 hours.
Today is as good as yesterday.  They say today is day 4 of new me, when it's actually day 4 23/24th.  You see the day your stem cells are infused is day 0.  2 days from infusion is day 1 and so on.  The countdown is a 100 day countdown that gauges where your at, provides certain milestones to hit, allows your red/white/platelet counts to go from zero to registering and most importantly allows my new immune system to come into my deserted town and safely inhabit it as well as take it over and make me it's BITCH.
The amount of pills I take is staggering.  They have me on anti GVHD and immune suppressants up the ass so new immune system doesn't come into me and say "hey, this fuck tard isn't German, he's a God damn dumb Pollack.  I'm gonna gas his ass."  These drugs are kinda like booze.  It relaxes the immune system enough to trick it into thinking that the Pollack is actually a good guy and this superior immune system should take me under the wing and make me little buddy.
Day 5-7 though is when the shit show is supposed to start.  You mucus layers are affected by the chemo and the GVHD medicines so you get gnarly mouth sores, can't eat, swallow or spit, you gut is rotten and your ass is now a liquid dispenser.
My mouths showing nothing yet, guts been OK, but my ass.  Man, it feels like I spent the last week at the Wing Dome eating extra hot wings consistently and as Social Distortion says, "I got a burning ring of fire!"  So much so that it's one of the things keeping me awake at night.  Pulsing, puckering, never giving up and always just a...pain in the ass.
Dr. says I'm doing great though.  That yea I may have painful bum, but at this point my butt should be a liquid fountain, and I should be showing mouth sores.  The floor docs changed and Dr. Egan who's been killing it for me for the last two weeks introduced me to my new Doc, Dr. John Hansen as "the ideal patient."
And that's a first that I've ever been described as Ideal anything.  So I'll take it.
I don't want to sound like a broken record, but thank you everyone that has sent a note, Skype, ran the Space Needle, Facetime, email, phone call, message, sent a card and visited me while in the hospital.  It has helped enormously with dealing with being in prison for a while.  So much so that I have a pleasant memory of the last 13 days in here.  XO

Sunrise view from my room.  Not bad eh?
Sunset view of the houseboats on Lake Union and the I5 bridge.  Just get cancer and you can have this view.  Actually don't.
THIS Pendleton showed up yesterday from KB Sales.  My room looks less like a hospital room and looking more like a cabin.  I always wanted one, but the JewPolish in me wouldn't buy one.   I wonder if new GermanYO would spring for it?
 Julie Tontini continuing on with witty sayings and motivating pictures. 
 Morning pills.   Combo that with the 4 bags of drips and there's a lot of commotion going on inside of me.


1 comment:

  1. Julie- LOL!! if you haven't seen kingsman yet, that's my new favorite flick.

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