Day + 15

Discharged from hospital to unit this afternoon, after an appointment tomorrow morning we are heading home, as in to our real home with our kids, our cats, the dogs and our own bed!!!! And an oven to bake with! And our own bathroom! And mum and our rose bushes . As an added bonus the central Line was removed.
All of this makes one very happy SH!!!

Day + 13

Well it is now almost the end of day +13 and things are looking remarkably good. In the days I haven't posted SH hit rock bottom. Although this was expected we had somehow kid ourselves that we were invincible and it wouldn't happen to us!! Reality check it did and we were one of the lucky ones, no ICU stay, no major infections. To see the one you love  unable to eat or even drink water because of his ulcerated throat and mouth and to be in such pain from that and also from the relentless diarrhoea is just horrid. Once they got the pain under control and he could sleep while drugged was easier. Trying to find things to tempt his appetite that he could manage was fun! especially when the dietitian had not acted on 2 referrals so there was no soft diet ordered!
Fast forward just a few days to today and the change is amazing. They said as soon as the blood counts started to rise things would improve quickly and they have.  We have even been lucky enough that SH has been granted a few hours day leave yesterday and today. He spends it moving from the recliner to the bed to the couch but it is so good for the mental health just to be outside that hospital room! There is even a whisper that he will get overnight leave tomorrow! Returning to the hospital today he was shifted from a single room into a shared ward, a positive move on an oncology ward! Call me old fashioned though, I just dont think males and females should have to share a ward unless absolutely necessary, uncomfortable for everyone?
We now have home in our sights, won't be long now and probably sooner than we ever thought possible, it has been SO hard beng away from our kids and our furry friends especially when they have needed us, thank goodness for mum stepping in.
One day at a time, no need to rush it now......this will not be the end of the journey only the end of this chapter....
Hopefully when I write next we will be home????

Day + 7

Well poor SH woke this morning with a fever so has been subjected to every test under the sun today. The thought is that the source of the infection is his ulcerated mouth and throat, oh joy! Needless to say eating and even drinking today has been a chore and he has spent most of the day snoozing. Each day we are charting 4 different blood counts, as expected they have all dropped but today 2 of them were actually 0! Only one way up from there!! Although it will probably not be until the weekend that they start recovering.

Day +5

Some days are better than others but so far so good. Blood counts have plummeted today (as was expected) and it will take some time for them to begin to recover so we are in for a rough week. Saturday we had the horsey one and my mum come to visit, sadly SH had a horrendous headache and nausea and wasn't able to enjoy seeing them. That has passed but for the last few days he has had a rash!! The medical staff are not worried and are just treating it. He is losing his appetite now and I am finding it harder to tempt him.
One day at a time.......

Day 0 - Transplant day

Well today is day 0, Transplant day! All went well and according to plan. A rough week ahead as we wait for counts to plummet (probably by the weekend) and then patiently wait for the new stem cells to kick in and begin recovering.....

Day -1

Day -1 was yesterday and it was a day free of treatment for SH and also The Melbourne Cup, the horse race that stops a nation! SH was able to escape for a few hours so we had a very relaxed day at the unit watching the races and just enjoying being out of the hospital environment. After my stressful visit to the TAB in the morning (when you only place a bet once a year the whole process changes every year) to place small bets on the races we hardly won enough to bother collecting!! Not sure that my processes of picking my horses - any combination of name, color, jockey etc-  has much merit! We finished off the afternoon with an ice cream on the foreshore looking out to sea.....

Day -2

Well I lost the rest of last week!! I don't seem to have a lot of spare time even though I spend a lot of time sitting! Last Thursday (day -6) I had a birthday. Friends from Cobden came to visit SH and took me out for lunch which was lovely. It was also the horsey ones first exam, english, which thankfully went smoothly On Friday SH had his dodgy central line removed and a new one put in. It was only after that we found out just how much of a crisis it was and the grey hairs it gave the doctors. Thankfully the new one is working beautifully! Friday was also HSs 21st birthday. Mum and the kids came down and we went out for dinner to celebrate. At the last minute SH was given permission to escape for 2 hours and join us which made our day! Today has been the administering of a very toxic drug, SH had to suck ice during it and for an hour afterwards to minimize the damage to the mouth. Tomorrow is a rest day so we will spend the day watching the Melbourne Cup races....