Mary Jo Update #40 - Progress Continues & Other Musings

5/21 BLOOD LABS                                         DIFFERENCE FROM 5/18 
WBC:  4.7 thou/uL (3.9-10.7)                                                +.3
PLATELET COUNT:  35* thou/uL (135-371)                       +5
NEUTROPHIL ABS:  1.77 thou/uL (1.60-8.10)                     -.38
POTASSIUM BLOOD:  3.6 mEq/L (3.3-4.8)                         -.6
MAGNESIUM BLOOD:  1.8 mg/dL (1.8-2.4)                        +.1

Mary Jo and I went to the outpatient clinic today again for blood labs and meetings with Dr. Chin and  her nurse practitioner, Anne Galloway. Her WBC and platelets showed continued improvement. The neutrophil reading dropped a little bit, but maintained a level indicating that her stem cells had grafted. Her blood potassium and magnesium maintain levels that required no supplementation today. A very good report for Day+15. This puts us halfway through the 30 day post transplant recovery phase.

Mary Jo needs to maintain a platelet count of 50 before the trifusion catheter can be removed because of the danger of bleeding when platelets are below that level. The catheter will be a benchmark point in the process for several reasons. The main one is the catheter being connected to a main line to the heart infection can be critical. It is necessary to change the dressing on the catheter ever seven days, and Mary Jo has been taking an atibiotic to ward off infection since the catheter was installed, but as with any opening in the skin it is a place of vulnerability.

Secondary to all of that, it is a pain in the neck. Mary Jo has been taking sponge baths since it was installed. She didn't have much luck keeping the area dry with any of the cling wrap products that she  tried. She figured that sponge baths were better than taking a chance that it would become infected.

Our next trip to the clinic will be on Friday. In addition to blood labs and meeting with the doctor and nurse practitioner. Mary Jo will have the dressing changed on the catheter, and her power port will get it's once a month flushing. Mary Jo is walking 30+ minutes everyday at a pretty good pace. Her strength is coming back, and she doesn't seem to be as winded as she was last week. Exercise is very important part of the recovery process.

I guess it's official. I am officilly a senior citizen now. I was talking to our neighbor, Ginny, who is colecting our mail for us. My Medicare card has came in the mail. I guess that it is a right of passing. Sort of like when I got my driver's license when I was 16, only it's at the other end of the spectrum.

A friend sent me the following about being on this end of the spectrum. It's called "And Then It's Winter". I think the writer is anonymous. You may have heard it before. But, I feel that it was appropriate tonight. I feel blessed to be able to spend the winter of my life with my best friend and soul mate of 45+ years. The love of my life, Mary Jo.

AND THEN IT'S WINTER

You know. . . time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years. Yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went. I know that I lived them all. I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams.

But, here it is... the winter of my life and it catches me by surprise...How did I get here so fast? Where did the years go and where did my youth go? I remember well seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that winter was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like.

But, here it is...my friends are retired and getting grey...they move slower and I see an older person now. Some are in better and some worse shape than me...but, I see the great change...Not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant...but, like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we'd be.

Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day! And taking a nap is not a treat anymore... it's mandatory! Cause if I don't on my own free will... I just fall asleep where I sit!

And so...now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did!! But, at least I know, that though the winter has come, and I'm not sure how long it will last...this I know, that whenit's over on this earth...it’s over. A new adventure will begin!

Yes, I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn't done...things I should have done, but indeed, there are many things I'm happy to have done. It's all in a lifetime. So, if you're not in your winter yet...let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you think. So, whatever you would like to accomplish inyour life please do it quickly! Don't put things off too long!! Life goes by quickly.

So, do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether this is your winter or not! You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life...so, live for today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember...and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past!!

"Life" is a gift to you. The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after. Make it a fantastic one.

LIVE IT WELL!
ENJOY TODAY!
DO SOMETHING FUN!
BE HAPPY!
HAVE A GREAT DAY!