12/7/13
– As I am going through this process and attempting to blog about it, I am
finding that it is long, slow process where thing don’t change much from day to
day.
Saying
this, here is an update:
I am
still in the hospital and feel well. I do have a nagging cough but from what I
recall from 2008, I always had a cough while in the hospital. I guess I just
need to get home.
Yesterday
I received my first neupogen shot and will get one every day until my WBC count
in 1.0. This morning I was at 0.2. My doctor is predicting that I may be able
to go home sometime next week.
Once I get home I will need to be back at the John Theurer
Cancer Center at
Hackensack University Medical Center 2 to 3 times per week. Also when I am home
I will need to be very cautious with germs and bacteria and I will not be
allowed to go out to public places. This is all because my new immune system
is still developing. The best advice anyone could get is to wash your hands after everything you
do. This goes for me and for all people around me. The
biggest risks I will face when I go home are infections and graft versus host
disease. Being my donor is not a 100% match, it is very likely I will have
graft versus host at some level. The good news is that my doctors see it all
the time and know how to treat it.
Overall
I feel very blessed for all the great and caring people around me. My family, friends,
doctors and nurses. I cannot thank them enough.
"You are the salt
of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty
again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled
under foot by men. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill
cannot be hidden. "Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the
peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house.
"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 5:13-16
More to
come…
2 comments:
I tell my patients all the time " the best thing you can do is wash your hands!" Hang in there Rich. We need you back at church.
Hey Anonymous,
Someday it will be fun to see just how many times "WASH YOUR HANDS" is posted around the hospital. I don't think you could walk 5 feet without seeing it.
As far as getting back to church soon… this is one of the things that I will not be allowed to do being it is in a public place and I will need to steer clear of those for a while. I am sure you know how passionate I am about working with the youth and playing music in church. I am certainly looking forward to a time when I can get back to all that.
Thanks,
Rich
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