Day 5, Staying On Track

Today I went with Jon to the IPOP (didn't go yesterday or the day before because it didn't seem necessary). I went because it is getting to the time when they might wonder why he doesn't have a caregiver with him, plus I don't get such a detailed report when he goes alone.

He is suffering more from the various ills of his digestive system, but he has no mouth sores and no sore throat and no terrible nausea. That is all very good. He is losing weight every day (the nurse's eyebrows went up today) because he is very good at not eating when it doesn't seem like it will go well. But the nurse today said that while his body is trying to get organized under this assault, he really needs to have as many tiny snacks as he can manage. I am glad she said that.  She pointed out that at this point his body has no defenses, and it needs some nutrients.

As expected, his white blood counts continue to descend. His neutrophils are now at 220, which is very close to zero. They were at 670 yesterday. Jordan (nurse, very good) says that he can expect to stay at zero for about four days and then slowly his counts will probably start to recover.  They gave him some platelets because he was down to 41 and they are trying to see if they can keep him at 50. They don't think they can, but it's worth a try.

I have to say that Jon is doing remarkably well, given that he feels pretty deflated.  Walking over to the hospital is not too hard yet. He doesn't have to rest, even though there are lots of benches in all the hallways. Jordan said that very soon they will want him to push a wheelchair while he is walking and then if he feels woozy or weak he can sit in it and I can push him. It will be interesting to see if he gets to that point. 

Here is the analogy that has come into my mind: this is a controlled burn, like they do in the forest service. After they burn it all down, they will wait to see the little sprouts come back up.

The other good news is that Jon has been able to continue to work at his database job and his brain is actually functioning. He remembers that the last time he did this, his capacity to focus was no good. Just like at home, he is still working when I go to bed at night. I am definitely getting more sleep than he is at night. He catches up during the day.

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