Paging Dr. Reppen

We got to Prentice at lunchtime, around 12:15.  We means my Mom and I.  My sister ran over from her office to help load the car.  It was obvious immediately that we would be a while.  We sent her back to work and played the waiting game.  It was 7:35 p.m. when I pulled out of the Prentice driveway.  They gave him one unit of blood and four units of platelets.  Two bags of platelets were ordered after his blood finished around 1:30.  There is a two hour hang time for the washed platelets to arrive after ordering them to the floor.  He did not sleep "at all" last night, even with Ambien.  He said his mind was just racing all night.

Be careful what you wish for.  Steve wanted to go home, telling the Stem Cell Team we would do anything to be managed at home.....the staff is aware the level of support he has at home is exceptional (it's not bragging if you can back it up, I read that on a swimmer's t-shirt when the girls were in high school), so now I can add "gives shots" on my resume.  Steve is taking two injections of Neupogen daily to stimulate white blood cell production.  This was his 8th admission, and only the 2nd time we got a drug chart at discharge, I am giddy with excitement!  We could put a crack dealer to shame with the dope in this house.  


We are scheduled for heme/onco clinic on Wednesday.  They want an abdominal CT scan to check on splenic function.....why is his body gobbling up all these cells and cell types?  We were told they could zap that bad boy spleen again....I need to get some solid answers about maximum embolization levels.


Steve had two glasses of ice water, a piece of bread and butter, and some chicken soup before going to bed tonight.  He has agreed to let me help him in the night if he has to get up.  He has a "mental grocery list" in his head, and I will go shopping tomorrow to fill his requirements.  And then he won't eat anything he requested, HAHAHA to Pete, Bob, Shirley and the rest of the family that gets that joke.