Tuesday,
January 28th
I forgot that Monday came along with a room change. When I was admitted the Oncology floor was booked out so I was admitted into the Women's Oncology area. Apparently I don't have the right bits to be hanging around on that floor. So my mom helped me pack up my room and wheel everything upstairs. I quickly learn that the previous room was a penthouse with a great view of an active construction site out of the front of the hospital. My new room is a broom closet overlooking the physical plant back lot. There is a nice lake in the distance with some houses, but definitely not an upgrade. Think Shawshank cell without the bars. I may need to start a tunnel. Or at least get a poster of Raquel Welch.
One of my goals is to maintain some sort of fitness level while I'm here. Jogging and burpies are out at the moment, but just getting out and walking is key. It gives me a break from my room and I can already tell I'm experiencing atrophy from sitting all the time. My nurse is a little more strict today and will not allow me off leash for the walk, so I have to take my IV stand with me. The floor at the hospital is small, I GPSed it off my phone and came up with 0.1 mile per lap. The IV stand has wheels and I was able to pound out a 15-minute pace for a mile. Even after that short amount of time, I feel tired and am ready to sit down. But I will continue to push for longer and more frequent sessions.
The blood news continues to improve. WBC down to 42,000!, but platelets were low so they added a bag of those. Another Hematologist from the group stopped by on rounds today and dashed my hopes a little. I have been clinging to hope about the sub-type of AML, routing for M3 and no bone marrow transplant requirement. All of this to be revealed by the pathology report that I thought was coming soon. He shared that the report would take 10 days and that more frequently than not, AML did require a transplant. He encouraged me to put it out of my mind (good luck), that the current treatment approach does not change and we just have to wait for the report. I'm ready to get Chief Hadley to go to the lab with his motivational stick.
My brother-in-law stopped by with lunch saving me another meal from food services, can't tell you how good that feels. I also love having my own clothes. I see many people in the hospital clothes which might be out of necessity, but it's definitely a comfort to be in familiar garb.
I think of one of the famous lines from the
Shawshank Redemption: “Get busy living, or get busy dying.” I can tell you,
despite my occasional boredom….I am very busy living.
I forgot that Monday came along with a room change. When I was admitted the Oncology floor was booked out so I was admitted into the Women's Oncology area. Apparently I don't have the right bits to be hanging around on that floor. So my mom helped me pack up my room and wheel everything upstairs. I quickly learn that the previous room was a penthouse with a great view of an active construction site out of the front of the hospital. My new room is a broom closet overlooking the physical plant back lot. There is a nice lake in the distance with some houses, but definitely not an upgrade. Think Shawshank cell without the bars. I may need to start a tunnel. Or at least get a poster of Raquel Welch.
One of my goals is to maintain some sort of fitness level while I'm here. Jogging and burpies are out at the moment, but just getting out and walking is key. It gives me a break from my room and I can already tell I'm experiencing atrophy from sitting all the time. My nurse is a little more strict today and will not allow me off leash for the walk, so I have to take my IV stand with me. The floor at the hospital is small, I GPSed it off my phone and came up with 0.1 mile per lap. The IV stand has wheels and I was able to pound out a 15-minute pace for a mile. Even after that short amount of time, I feel tired and am ready to sit down. But I will continue to push for longer and more frequent sessions.
The blood news continues to improve. WBC down to 42,000!, but platelets were low so they added a bag of those. Another Hematologist from the group stopped by on rounds today and dashed my hopes a little. I have been clinging to hope about the sub-type of AML, routing for M3 and no bone marrow transplant requirement. All of this to be revealed by the pathology report that I thought was coming soon. He shared that the report would take 10 days and that more frequently than not, AML did require a transplant. He encouraged me to put it out of my mind (good luck), that the current treatment approach does not change and we just have to wait for the report. I'm ready to get Chief Hadley to go to the lab with his motivational stick.
My brother-in-law stopped by with lunch saving me another meal from food services, can't tell you how good that feels. I also love having my own clothes. I see many people in the hospital clothes which might be out of necessity, but it's definitely a comfort to be in familiar garb.
No comments:
Post a Comment