Sunday December 25, 2011, Transplant Day 20

Merry Christmas! This has been an interesting day here. No Christmas tree, no cookies, no treats, no gifts. Rose and I will exchange gifts in the future where we can plunge our bare feet into the warm sand and sit in the shade of a palm tree. Oh we do have one decoration that may seem strange. My granddaughter Isabel got me a small squirrel. At our home we have two trees; one that could be put in Martha Stuart’s magazine and one with all the decorations the kids and grandkids have made over the years. In the middle and hidden in the Martha Stuart Tree is a squirrel that only a few people know about (the grandkids discovered him). In the spirit of National Lampoons “Christmas Vacation” the squirrel has become part of the decorations. Isabel saw this small squirrel in the store and felt Papa and Grandma needed a squirrel to help remind them it is Christmas.


For now, we are committed to a four hour infusion of saline that is a daily routine for me. This typically means I get hooked up and lay down for a nap. So much of my time is resting. Then this morning I could not eat. I hope this will pass soon as I continue to loose weight and I need to start putting nutrition back into my body. The doctors say this can take from two to four weeks into the transplant to kick in. So I am due now for a change in my body. I need a walker to get around because of a balance thing with light headedness. I expect with more walking and regaining the strength in my legs, this also will be past issue. I typically go into the garage and walk the parking area. Today it was for about 15 minutes.

There are other issues that we will sort out with the doctors tomorrow during a clinic visit. We will see how strong my immune system is getting based on white cell count and neutrophils (some times people ask what a term means like neutrophils. Sorry we get so use to speaking with the doctors we forget. The best way is to go to internet and look up a word. Be suspect of a definition that sounds a little quacky. A neutrophil is not a super hero comic book character named Phil. Use the other definitions from Mayo Clinic or Wikipedia are probably closer to the actual meaning you are looking for.

Merry Christmas to all of our friends that follow this blog. I am thinking of a few that this was not a good year. I know the holidays can be hard. May 2012 be a great year for all of us.

Rick and Rose.