Mary Jo Update #37 - Yikes! The Terror Of Grocery Shopping

Today was the first day since we came back to Nashville on April 29th that we didn't have to go to the stem cell outpatient clinic, or the hospital. So, how did we spend a rainy day in Music City? A lot of it at Walmart. Since Mary Jo is not supposed to go into stores, I had to do the shopping which always causes anxiety.

One of the aspects of my particular brand of anxiety is the conviction that I don't know how to do certain things unless given explicit instructions. One of the Great Mystery Skills I'm positive I don't have is cooking. And mixed up with this lack of cooking confidence is the terror of grocery shopping.

Not that I break into a cold sweat whenever I walk into a grocery... what happens instead is a sort of mental block as I wander through the aisles. I stare at all the food, all the varieties and brands and options, and I have absolutely no idea what to buy, even if I have a list, unless it is very specific and in great detail.

The first couple of days that we here we ate out. Then, on the days that Mary Jo was taking chemo, she didn't have much of an appetite. When she was in the hospital we were both eating there. So we had not made a comprehensive trip to the grocery since we came back.

With Mary Jo being on the neutrpenic diet, she cannot eat any fresh fresh vegatables, and only thick skinned fruits. She can eat oranges and bananas, but no apples, pears, or peaches, etc. She can eat canned fruits and vegetables. No aged cheeses. Basically, anything that could possibly carry a bacteria is off limits.

If she eats food from a restaurant, it has to be something that was prepared while you wait. Nothing that has been cooked, and placed under a heat lamp. No salad bars or buffets. The folks at the clinic said that the easiest thing to do to be safe is to eat frozen dinners in the apartment until her immune system totally recovers which could be several days.

Mary Jo was told to wear a mask anytime the she is not either in the apartment, or in the stem cell center, and to avoid anyplace there are a lot of people, such as grocery stores, malls, restaurants,etc. So, eating out isn't an option, anyway.

As said, I did the shopping today while Mary Jo waited in the car. Mary Jo has always done the grocery shopping. I'm sure that I looked like a deer in headlights to those experienced shoppers as I wandered the aisles. Mary Jo actually gave me a list. I'm sure that she thought the items on the list were identified clearly, but I had to call her about five times for clarification.

If you google neutropenic diet on the internet, you will find lots of articles that question the benefit to the neutropenic patient following a strict neutropenic diet, and wearing a mask around all of the time.

But, when the health professionals who are managing your transplant tell you these things. I wouldn't want to be the patient or caregiver of a patient who has contracted some kind of bacterial infection. The doctor asks where you've eaten, and you have to tell them a salad bar after they have warned you not to. This actually happened to a friend of ours named John who was in Chicago for a stem cell transplant and ate a salad bar.

Mary Jo had a little rash develop today which caused her a little discomfort. It was probably caused by the platelet transfusion yesterday. Luclily, the nurse practitioner yesterday had ordered a larger quantity of Triamcinolone Cream that she was using in the hospital.

It wasn't a good day for walking today. But, we had about a half an hour walk around Magnolia Circle on Vanderbilt's beautiful campus last night. Here's a video made around Magnolia Circle showing the beutifully columned buildings surrounding it. Our apartment is just behind the second building shown.



It seemed a little strange not seeing the doctors and nurses across the street today. Back to the clinic at 9:30 tomorrow. It will be interesting to see how her blood levels do without a Neupogen shot today.