Day + 21 Going in the right direction

Good day all!

It seems that the day did not begin or end on a good note but all the time in between was good. The ANC (I think those were the 3 letters) is over 500 and has been for 3 days. That is one of the criteria for discharge to out-patient status. The total body rash that Peter has is beginning to itch so he gets cortisone cream for that and today they started him on a 3 day program of prednisone to help clear it up.

Eating remains a problem. They discontinued the IV nutrition and hope that his appetite will come back. One of the side effects of prednisone is an increased appetite so that should help. He still has problems keeping stuff down. We think maybe part of the problem is that he is eating/drinking sometimes from a semi-reclined position. I think he is going to try to only take oral stuff while sitting up.

Peter is consistently getting in 1 mile/day broken up into 4 walks. He goes faster but not farther.

The nursing staff at the clinic had a full turkey dinner for all family members today. It was great! Kim, Todd, Sylvia and I walked there and back (10 minutes each way). I was hoping it was enough of a walk to burn up all the calories I ate, but I doubt it.

Yet again we were reminded today of how fortunate we are. There is another couple on the unit. He came in a week after Peter and is having a really rough time. They gave him morphine for pain and he was immediately addicted to it and really wacked out. His wife and the nurses had a difficult time tryin to keep him from climbing out of bed, pulling his clothes off and he almost pulled is central line out. To top it all off, he had to quit his job when he got sick and then she had to quit hers because she is his only care giver. Now they have used up all their financial resources and are working with the hospital staff to find a place for them to go when he is discharged. She has spent every night in the hospital sleeping in the recliner in his room. The hospital was finally able to call in a sitter to stay with him so his wife can have some time off, but she has no place to go. Hopefully the hospital will be able to find a place for them to go soon. This sure makes Peter's problems seem insignificant compared with theirs, but to him (us) they are significant. We still have this great network of friends, blog readers and family and we know they are all pulling for us!!! We really do appreciate it.

Everyone visiting leaves tomorrow, Sylvia in the morning and the kids in the afternoon. Then it will be just Peter and I and maybe we can just unwind and relax. If anyone is so inclined, visitors would be good over the weekend.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Wendy