20 July 2009

Monday: Day 2 ~ Part II

Good evening friends! I didn't get to leave the hospital as early as we thought, as I had to have IV antibiotic and a unit of platelets before I could go. I think we actually left around noon time. We got back to the apartment and Mike fixed me a tuna salad sandwich. Then I fell asleep for the first real, uninterrupted sleep I've had in several days. I'm still feeling kind of tired and sluggish. Think my 22yo was out partying? LOL.

So now comes the hard part and the wait. These are the drugs I am on daily: anti-rejection (2 different ones), antibiotic (1 oral, 1 IV), anti-viral, anti-fungal, Nexium, compazene (as needed), oxycodone (as needed), Ativan (as needed). And that's it, I think. The IV anti-biotic is interesting. Mike attaches it to my Picc line. It looks like a clear balloon inside a little baby bottle. It's under pressure, so after it's attached and the balloon collapses, the antibiotic is finished going in. The first one is nearly finished now. Pretty cool way to administer. No IV pole, gravity, etc. needed. Some of these things I take several times a day. Only one just once. Mike made me a simple chart on the computer to help me track everything.

Dinner!!! I have a superb food report. Mike cooked dinner. Now this is a really big deal because Mike doesn't cook. Not bbq or anything. But he is willing to try to cook anything I felt like eating. And I felt like eating Tomato Crumble. I can't tell you when I've tasted anything better. And it was so nice to have a hot meal. None of the hospital food was ever more than luke warm. Seeing something come steaming hot out of the dish was a treat. Sally had brought me heirloom tomatoes she had grown. And there is basil in a pot on our balcony. I'm sure that added to the flavour. I thought it was food of the gods. And he served it on our pretty coloured Harlequin dishes.

Currently my schedule will be to go to the OTU clinic every morning. I'm on the early schedule so will be there @ 7:30ish. They will do blood tests every day. Have to check many things, including the level of one of the anti-rejection drugs. May have to play with the dosages of that one. So I take my morning dose with me to take after the blood draw. And because I'm keeping no platelets, I'll have to have platelet transfusions every day for a while. The Red Cross is HLA matching me for platelets now, but that will take several days to go into effect. Hopefully they can find matched ones for me, which will hold for a day or two. We're thinking positively.

They also run the standard tests to see when my new bone marrow has started producing cells. It won't do that until the cells have engrafted - as in settled in my empty bones and taken up permanent residency. When the new cells are engrafted and producing the new blood cells we will celebrate. This can happen as early as 14 days, but more likely it will be three weeks or so. Meds keep getting adjusted all this time.

I'm feeling a bit tired, so will go to bed soon. Don't forget tomorrow morning is free pastry at Starbucks until 10:30a. I'm looking forward to either a blueberry scone or a cheese Danish.
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7 comments:

Gayle said...

Yea for free pastry at Starbucks!!Tomato Crumble sounds very good, yum, what a sweetie, you are truly blessed. We all on the board have wondered how you were doing all day..Glad you got some much needed rest..Sleep well, friend and tomorrow will be another blessed day for you.

Anonymous said...

Becky,Tomato Crumble! maybe you started something with Mike.Do you think we'll see him posting on the BC board any time soon? So glad to read all your posts. Hope you enjoy Starbuck's this morning.
Creamsicle

Anonymous said...

Becky,
Those gravity balls are amazing. My daughter has CF and uses them whenever she needs IV antibiotics to fight infection.
Glad to hear you are still positive. Good Luck!
Peggy

Linda said...

Glad you had an appetite and could enjoy your wonderful dinner...it sounds like Mike did a great job!
Hope you have a peaceful, uneventful day today....

Cora said...

So glad to know you are back to your apartment. Your Tomato Crumble sounds delicious and I want to try it as soon as I get back from my BlogHer conference in Chicago this week. Made me think of my two favorite tomato casserole recipes, so I'm attaching them here for you. Both work with canned or fresh tomatoes. So easy and so good to serve with a nice piece of . . . protein! LOL

SCALLOPED TOMATO CASSEROLE
* 4 cups fresh peeled or canned tomatoes, cut up
* 2 tablespoons chopped onions
* 1 tablespoon chopped green peppers
* 3 tablespoons chopped celery
* 1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
* 4 teaspoons sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon pepper
* 3 tablespoons flour
* 2 tablespoons butter

PREPARATION:
Combine tomatoes, onions, green peppers and celery in a large mixing bowl. Mix together flour, sugar, salt and pepper; stir into tomato mixture. Put mixture into greased casserole (1 1/2-quart) and top with bread crumbs. Dot with butter and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Serves 6.

TOMATO CASSEROLE
2 - 16 oz. cans diced tomatoes, drained
1 c. diced onions
2 T. butter
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 - 3 slices toasted bread, cubed

Melt butter in a pan. Saute onions until softened; add tomatoes and sugars. Continue to cook for about 10 mins. Add bread cubes and stir to mix completely. Pour into flat cassarole dish and bake at 300 degrees for about 1 hour.

All my best,
Cora

Anonymous said...

Becky you have so many great recipes on your site. When my prednisone kicks in big time, I am going to tackle a whole lot of them. I am so glad that you are home and comfortable. That is interesting about your IV. If I went back to nursing now I would need a complete refresher course. It was Mary from one Perfect Bite who directed me your way. She is always so supportive in her comments to me and she thought I would like to read a blog of hope and courage. I have found it here for sure. You have a wonderful writing style and I feel like I know you as I read backward. Just keep getting stronger, you seem to have a wonderful guy and a great support system. I am pulling for you.

A hug from me,
Sue

Anonymous said...

Your recipe for Tomato Crumble sounds really great and it is so pretty in that square baking dish. I'm glad you had a wonderful night's sleep!