November 18, 2003, DAY #21
Friends,
Just another boring day in the Space Station. Actually, the doctor said I would probably go to the village tomorrow rather than Thursday! I have been getting food preparation lessons from the nutritionist, and interviews with the discharge nurse. I am waiting for lessons from the pharmacy on taking my assortment of drugs. We have been working out the details of how to get our stuff from my disabled car to the appartment with security, and arranging delivery of my prescriptions to my appartment from a pharmacy nearby. The village I keep referring to is the Hope-Parsons Village here on the grounds of City of Hope hospital. They have 40 efficiency appartments for outpatients. The plan right now is that I will stay here until day 100, which is February 5. I have been told, though, that sometimes if things are going well, the doctors will let patients go home early if they have a BMT hospital nearby. That would be nice. Today is day 21. My stay here has NOT been boring, and the time has passed quickly. I am happy to be leaving though, especially since Menchie will be cooking for me.
On the medical front, nothing much new. I am able to get the pills down, although the 100mg Cyclosporine capsule is quite a challenge. Creatinine went down to 1.1 today, so that is excellent. Blood counts are drifting, but no problem. The doctor wants me to remain on IV fluids overnight for a week, so a nurse will come to my appartment tomorrow with the required equipment and saline solutions, and will teach us how to set up the IVs. The same nurse will provide all the supplies required for care of my catheter.
Lab Results |
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Blood Cell Type |
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| WBC | 4.5 | 6.8 | 6.6 | 6.7 | 6.6 |
| RBC | 4.20 | 3.06 | 3.22 | 3.04 | 3.01 |
| HGB | 13.9 | 10.4 | 10.9 | 10.4 | 10.2 |
| PLT | 130 | 234 | 222 | 240 | 203 |
Have a great day!
Ted
tw@wilcoxent.com