I Got Out !!

Yep, they finally let me go about noon. I was packed and ready and standing at the door when the doctor came in. I made four laps around the floor before breakfast to tell everyone bye. The vast majority of the nurses and assistants were very caring, supportive, and informative. What a great staff. They made the stay as pleasant as possible. And I'll actually miss them.

Ken and I got checked in at the Rotary House Hotel about 2:30 since the room wasn't ready at noon. That gave us time to get lunch and fill prescriptions. M. D. has two full pharmacies just for M. D. patients.

I have to be babysat 24 hours a day until I get to come home. Ken is taking the first tour of duty. They want 24 hour babysitting due to the possiblility of severe GvHD (Graft vs. Host Disease). If I get an attack during the night someone has to get me to the emergency center across the street. At this point they are most worried about an attack on the GI track which could dehydrate me and make me pass out. I don't expect any problems since I have had few up to this point. But the BMT staff are very cautious. I'm hoping after a month or so of no problems they will relax the 24 hour babysitting requirement. I haven't tried to negotiate with them -- yet.

It felt quite strange going from an isolated environment to being able to get out. We ate at the restaurant in the hotel for lunch. I felt almost paranoid.

I do have to wear a mask when I'm out in public. That's a pain but a necessary evil. My immune system is the equivalent of that of an 18 day old baby. So I have to take the same precautions for myself as one would for a new born.

The overall white count was up nominally this morning, which is a very good sign because it didn't continue to drop. The neutrophil count was down, though, so I got a Neupogen shot in the belly. The red counts were down a fair amount, but the platelets were up. So all in all this was a pretty good day.