Back in the hospital, room 121, phone number: (603) 650 - 2121. I am on day -4 of the stem cell transplant, so I am getting my first chemo pre-treatment. I will have 3 of those and then a day off. On day 0 I get Total Body Irradiation (TBI) of 2 grays, (for those of you that are interested in radiation doses), and in the afternoon I get my stem cells. I will talk more about the whole stem cell treatment in a later post.
So, today was move-in day. We did not have a room assigned until this morning, so we had breakfast, and I hooked up to my Vanco, and had the rest of my medications. 10 pills. It is ridiculous. After the Vanco (which drips into my PICC line) was done, I had a little nap and then got up and packed. It is a little funny because I was not that excited about leaving the hospital last week, and today I had a hard time not dragging my heels on going back. But packing is simple - a few clothes, a few books, my toothbrush and my computer cover 90% of everything that I bring.
I am in the Hematology Special Care Unit (HSCU, pronounced hiss-scue), This is in the same area of the hospital that I have been in previously, but it is all behind glass partitions and the air even more filtered, and is slightly pressurized. The large vents in my room mean that I can not fly my toy helicopter in here. The drafts are too much for it, and it gets sucked up to the intake vent on the ceiling, or gets caught in the whirling draft caused by the blower vents and slams into the wall. The best place to fly is up on the 5th floor in the east wing anyway, so it will just prompt me to take more walks.
Anyway, the HSCU nurses are segregated from the rest of the nurses. They have a lot more training. So I know all the other nurses on the floor, but none of the HSCU nurses yet. My doctor, the resident, said that he thinks the HSCU nurses are the nicest, which is hard to believe after the amazing kindness of the other nurses.
I spent about an hour re-arranging the furniture the way I like it, moving everything in the room around. I sort of expected some resistance from the nurse, but she just smiled about it, recognizing me as a professional patient, who is no longer intimidated by all the "hospital" stuff. The chemo was only 30 minutes. Barely anything at all compared to what I am used to. Hopefully my counts will not drop too much during this time and my bottom will continue to heal.
Leif
So, today was move-in day. We did not have a room assigned until this morning, so we had breakfast, and I hooked up to my Vanco, and had the rest of my medications. 10 pills. It is ridiculous. After the Vanco (which drips into my PICC line) was done, I had a little nap and then got up and packed. It is a little funny because I was not that excited about leaving the hospital last week, and today I had a hard time not dragging my heels on going back. But packing is simple - a few clothes, a few books, my toothbrush and my computer cover 90% of everything that I bring.
I am in the Hematology Special Care Unit (HSCU, pronounced hiss-scue), This is in the same area of the hospital that I have been in previously, but it is all behind glass partitions and the air even more filtered, and is slightly pressurized. The large vents in my room mean that I can not fly my toy helicopter in here. The drafts are too much for it, and it gets sucked up to the intake vent on the ceiling, or gets caught in the whirling draft caused by the blower vents and slams into the wall. The best place to fly is up on the 5th floor in the east wing anyway, so it will just prompt me to take more walks.
Anyway, the HSCU nurses are segregated from the rest of the nurses. They have a lot more training. So I know all the other nurses on the floor, but none of the HSCU nurses yet. My doctor, the resident, said that he thinks the HSCU nurses are the nicest, which is hard to believe after the amazing kindness of the other nurses.
I spent about an hour re-arranging the furniture the way I like it, moving everything in the room around. I sort of expected some resistance from the nurse, but she just smiled about it, recognizing me as a professional patient, who is no longer intimidated by all the "hospital" stuff. The chemo was only 30 minutes. Barely anything at all compared to what I am used to. Hopefully my counts will not drop too much during this time and my bottom will continue to heal.
Leif
I love that you rearranged your room to be just as you want. You're going to be there for a while, might as well have things to your liking. I'm glad you're going into all this feeling so strong! We're all pulling for you.
ReplyDeleteEvery time the month changes (i.e., Jan to Feb or the like), I always miss your posts because my computer makes it look like there are no new posts. I have to finally remember that it's a new month and that I have to go to a new section of the blog.
ReplyDeleteOnce again, I'm so grateful to hear about what's going on for you. Thank-you so much for writing. I can't believe you're on the doorstep of your stem cell transplant. What a wild ride you've been on over the last year, esp over the last 8 or 9 months!
I thought that I'd manage to see you before your transplant, but no such luck. I caught Cat's sickness and it seems like a real hanger-on-er. So, I look forward to seeing you once you're able to see visitors after the transplant.
Big warm hugs to you, Mitch