The Seven Dwarfs

I am sorry I haven't posted for several days. We are now at Day 4 of Transplant #2. Don's white blood cell and platelet counts started to drop yesterday. Overall, he is tolerating this transplant a little better than the last. At least we aren't battling the dizziness he had in February. It really helps to be able to get outside a little, when the weather cooperates. His hiccups persisted for four days around the clock. They finally started him on a muscle relaxer to stop them. He got some brief relief, but they didn't stop until the steroids wore off today.

His reaction to the various drugs keeps me on my toes. It's like living with the seven dwarfs of chemotherapy......

Zippy came when we started steroids and was joined very quickly by Burpy (OK, actually hiccupy....give me a little poetic license here). The next day, we had a brief visit by Crappy (no comment needed). With the sedatives for hiccups came Spacy and his cousin Droopy.
Today, as counts are dropping and steroids have worn off, Sleepy has taken up residence.....and, of course, with everything that Don has been through, we also got a visit from Grumpy.

Now, I hope this fairy tale will have a happy ending and the handsome prince will return before we go back to Texas....

Seriously, though, Don is a trooper through all of this. He is still getting two IV antibiotics and I have to wake him up to connect and disconnect autoinfusers and flush lines. The dogs are camped out under his bed and/or at his side on the bed most of the day. Of course, the fact that it is NASCAR and drag racing season helps keep Don entertained when he is awake.

There is nothing like seeing other people with cancer to make you realize how fortunate you are. Our roomie today was a 34 yr old woman with a mediastinal lymphoma that measured 17.5 cm. She has been through a very aggressive chemotherapy regimen before she got to transplant. She and her husband have a 4yr old, and she wants to get better by August so she can go back to kindergarten teaching in the fall. Their spirit was inspiring.

I bought a sponsorship in "honor of Don Lehman" for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life today. It was a sobering reminder of how our lives have changed. I even got one of those goofy plastic bracelets that says "Celebrate Hope". Our hope is in the hands of God and a the very talented medical team He has sent us. Thank you all for your support and prayers. I will continue to post (if those seven visitors will give me time! ) God bless you.