D+14 — Trying to Eat

First, the WBC:

0.1 D+8
0.2 D+9
0.6 D+10
0.8 D+11
1.7 D+12
2.6 D+13
3.1 D+14

The WBC is no longer doubling, but it's still growing fast enough that the doctor wants to send me home on Thursday (D+16). Thursday allows me to come back Friday and report right away on how things are going at home. If I were to go home Friday, I wouldn't be able to come back until Tuesday because of the weekend and the holiday, and that's too long a gap for the first return appointment.

In order for me to go home with the fewest complications, I should be creating my own platelets consistently, and I should be taking medications only by mouth. Otherwise, I would have to go home with an IV pole, or stay in the hospital over the weekend.

One of the medicines the Infectious Disease team wants me to take performs best when taken with a fatty meal. Normally, this would not be a problem, but my current appetite makes it hard to eat anything and especially rebels at fatty foods. This evening, just the smell of a fried fish sandwich and fries caused me to retch up some juice I had managed to get down a couple of hours earlier.

Fortunately, my nurse suggested I give Ensure another try. I had found it repulsive weeks ago, but this time I was able to drink an entire bottle. So, if I can't eat regular food, I can at least drink Ensure. I sure hope my taste recovers soon.

= = =

P.S. I added a music video from my family to the D+12 post.