D+20 — Settling In

We're finishing our third day in the apartment. It's going about as well as it can.

Yesterday, I went to the hospital for blood tests and possible transfusions, as ordered by the person in charge of discharging me. Surprisingly, to us, the hospital was not expecting me, and we had to wait about 40 minutes in Admitting for a doctor to put in an order. The woman in the admitting office who was serving us told us that what we should have done was call ahead to find out if there was a room available and to set in motion the process of getting an order. This would have been useful information to have upon discharge. We were not alone in our circumstances, as two other patients showed up while we waited in Admitting and found themselves in the same unexpected position.

Luckily, I didn't need any platelets or red blood cells, which is good both because we got to leave within an hour of the blood draw and because it means the marrow is producing enough of those cells to keep me above the danger line for those two types of cells. The WBC has been drifting down since its high of 3.1 (3100), but nobody medical seems concerned as long as there are enough neutrophils to fight infection, and there's still a good cushion there.

A friend of ours drove up from Champaign for a very brief visit while we in the hospital and also brought a few household supplies from our house: cutting board, lemon squeezer, drying rack... items you don't always find in a "fully furnished" apartment. We keep discovering more things that are lacking, some of which really should be provided — pot holders, lids for pots — and others that we just would like to have — space heater, baking sheet.

After the hospital visit, my home care nurse came and gave me a magnesium infusion.

Today, I went for a couple of 15-minute walks... inside the apartment. It was a little slippery outside, and very cold.

My doctor, back from her two-week vacation, called to see how I was doing (on a holiday — she's really good). Mostly, I feel like I am 90 years old. I walk very slowly, and I am often tired. She was not surprised, given all that has happened to me since the leukemia returned.

One useful piece of information we learned from her was that, while it could be less or it could be more, I should plan to be in Chicago for a couple of months. This is going to take some planning, since Jan cannot be up here the whole time. We are lucky that my parents are retired and able to come out for lengthy caretaking trips.