December 7 - Day Plus 2

Another pretty uneventful day. My counts actually went up today. I asked if that meant I get to go home tomorrow, but they told me it's probably just an abnormal reading. If they're elevated tomorrow, I'll push harder on going home sooner than later. They just keep telling me that it's very wishful thinking, but not out of the question.

I ate a good breakfast, lunch, and dinner today, so the appetite coming along doing pretty well.

More importantly, there was a very exciting finish to the Price is Right today. The showcase was very tight. The first bidder passed on the first showcase and bid on the second. His bid was only $400 away - a sure winner. The other bidder was only $150 off and won both showcases! It doesn't get any better than that.

They finally got the Discovery Channel working here. Apparently the whole ward was out and they had to replace the router. I've got all of my shows back now, so there's more to pass the time.

Finally, an observation after watching a day full of cable news. Do you think we'll eventually forget about September 11th like we've forgotten about December 7th? I think that's a regrettable and sad transformation in American history.

That's all for today. Thanks for checking in.

December 6 - Day Plus 1

Today was very uneventful. I ate a some today - pizza for lunch and soup for dinner. It's holding well. My counts dropped a little more, but I am feeling pretty much the same - maybe even a little better.

Some of you have asked for me to handicap when my counts will be back up and I'll be able to go home. Chemo wipes out rapidly dividing cells, like stem cells and cancer cells. It did not effect my existing white blood cells, platelets, red blood cells, etc. My remaining cells of these types are the ones that existed prior to starting the chemo. They are living out their natural life cycle, and will soon die out.

Stem cells usually monitor the levels of these other cells and replace them as they die out. With no stem cells to replace them after the chemo, it's now a race between the decline of my existing cells and the speed of engraftment of the reintroduced stem cells. More than likely the stem cells will lose this race and I will bottom out for few days with virtually no immune system. They're telling me it'll be anywhere from 10 to 21 days before my counts recover to the point that I can go home. My goal is the short end of this range at 10 days. We'll see.

Now on to the important stuff - like the Price is Right. Today's show was pretty uneventful. The first contestant actually claimed to have driven from Washington DC to California just to be on the show. Now that's commitment! The most expensive of the showcase options was only $25,000. Pretty lame prizes.

Daytime TV is pretty scary - Judge Joe Brown, Judge Judy, Ellen, Oprah, Springer. I don't watch any of that crap. The commercials are even worse. Nothing has changed. In fact, I feel like I have warped back in time to when I was home sick from grade school - Sam Bernstein commercials (his kids are now in the ads), Colonial Penn Life Insurance, Devry Institute, and, let's not forget, the Hoveround wheel chair. Did you know that they guarantee Medicare will pay for it or it's free? More on all of this next week.

As you can see, it's pretty dull here and I am beyond stir crazy. It's a blessing and a curse that I am feeling OK - a blessing because I am doing well and not having any severe side effects, a curse because I feel good enough to not be here.

That's all for tonight. Thanks for checking in.

December 5 - Day Zero

Reunited and it feels so... eh.

I've got my cells back and am doing OK. It was actually more discomforting than the chemo, but it only lasted about an hour. More cramping than nausea. The only scent I got was an acidic taste in the back of my throat - I won't tell you what it tasted like. It was so strong that I was only barely able to kill the taste with Altoids. The predominant opinion is that it smells like creamed corn, which I cannot smell because I am too congested.

I am not sure what I am more excited about today - my re-birthday or the deal the Tigers pulled off yesterday. Look out Red Sox and Yankees!

There was a tie on the big wheel on Price is Right today. Two people got $1 on the wheel and won $1,000. In the spinoff, the guy won $5,000, but only got 5 cents. The girl beat him with something like 25 cents and went to the showcase. Because the cell reinfusion was done while it was on, I didn't pay attention to the results of the showcase. I don't know if it's better to take the for sure $5k, or risk it in the showcase.

My counts are down again today, but are not in a free fall. They're pretty close to zero, so there's not much room to free fall anyway. I am guessing I'll be at zero within a few days. Hopefully, my returned cells will get busy quickly and get that immune system going again. The sooner it does, the sooner I can go home.

I can hardly believe I've been here 8 days already. Luckily, I had never spent a night in the hospital before last week. With all of the trouble I got into when I was a kid - hit by a car, wiped out on a mini-bike - it's a miracle this is the first time.

My neighbor got to go home today. To clear up some confusion, she's in the room next door, not sharing a room with me.

I'm feeling OK as I head off to try to sleep. Thanks for checking in.

December 4 - Day Minus 1

Today was a pretty lazy day. Most importantly, no chemo.

Between vital sign tests, blood draws, beeping IV pumps, and general disturbances, you really can't get more than a couple hours of uninterrupted sleep at night. As a result, I sneak a couple of naps in during the day.

The Price is Right was good this morning. Somebody got a dollar on the big wheel, but missed any bonus money on the bonus spin. I am not a Drew Carey fan yet - he's pretty funny, but doesn't build up the excitement like Bob Barker did.

They encourage me to walk the floor to get some exercise. Sixteen laps around the ward is a mile, so I did that. I ate a little today, but not much.

Outside of that excitement, just a lazy day. My counts continue to drop and the fatigue is kicking up. It's all been tolerable, thus far.

Tomorrow is day zero and I get my cells back. I am told to expect the the freezing agent to have a very pungent and distinct smell. Some people have said it smells like garlic, some tomato soup, and some creamed corn. I guess I will have my own opinion after tomorrow. Any visitors will also be able to have their vote counted because the agent is passed out of the body through the lungs, so all can smell it. My neighbor is hoping to go home tomorrow before my transplant so she doesn't have to live through the smell again.

That's all for today. Thanks for checking in.

December 3 - Day Minus 2

Chemo is over! As of 9:30 this morning, I got my last drop of chemo - God willing, forever. Surprisingly, I am still feeling pretty good. I had three pumps connected to my IV pole (which my brother named Wilson after Wilson the volleyball from Castaway) since I checked in. There is now only one, and that'll be with me until I check out. It's a good feeling to have that all behind me.

I have not eaten anything much. I don't feel hungry, so I don't feel like I am missing anything. The food service brings me three meals a day. I have not touched any of it since the first day. They brought meatloaf today. Seriously, who eats meatloaf? It's still sitting on the window sill if you're hungry.

Tomorrow's a day off for rest. Of course, I tried to accelerate the schedule and skip the day off, but they told me I need to let the chemo work its way through my system before getting the cells back. Oh well. I'll try anything to get out of here faster.

Thanks for all of the prayers, good wishes, phone calls, and emails. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the support.

December 2 - Day Minus 3

Well, we're getting there. Six days down and only one to go! And, I'm holding up better than I thought I would be at this point. Only one bout of nausea today, and that was the Lions game. It really turned my stomach. I'm still tolerating the chemo without nausea, though. I have not really eaten anything over the last few days, but I'd rather not press my luck. People tell me I look good, all things considered.

Unfortunately, I believe that these early days are the easy part. My counts are starting to drop, but not as precipitously as they will in the coming days. Everyone laughs at me when I say that I am going home a week after I get my cells reinfused. I just tell them that we all have to have goals.

The people here at Karmanos are very nice and attentive to my needs. I just love my 4 am vitals check! I am not sure they always get my humor and, as a result, they've classified me as "trouble."

The schedule from here is chemo in the morning and then a break until Wednesday. That'll be my "re-birthday" when my cells are reinfused. I am not sure if we'll have cake, but we definitely will next year!

December 1 - Day Minus 4

Well, the chemo is starting to catch up with me. I've got four doses to go - one this evening, two tomorrow, and one on Monday. The nausea is slowly creeping in, so we'll have to see how this evening's session goes. I'm hoping it'll hold off for a couple more days so I can get outside of the chemo window. Then, it's on to dealing with the fatigue of my immune system bottoming out.

Other than that, just hanging in the room watching tv and playing video games. They should have a weekend edition of the Price is Right. Bummer with the TV in the room, all of the channels work except the Discovery Channel. No MythBusters, Dirty Jobs, or Man versus Wild.

Evening chemo went ok. Mild nausea, but still holding everything together. Two more rounds on Sunday, and a quick one on Monday. Almost through with part one!

Thanks for checking in.