Margaret, has been sleeping more than usual these past few days. She had a lung procedure to remove fluid from them, so she is now breathing easier than the past few days. Margaret is recieving pain medication which is now needed because of the lung procedure puncture site being painful. It's good that Margaret gets rest, she's going to need energy to do all that she wants to do when she gets out of the hospital. Keep those cards, letters and prayers coming.
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When I visited Margaret today, at first glance I saw a few things that were a little unsettling: a drainage tube for fluid in her lung, an tube providing supplemental oxygen with outlets just under her nose, a porta-potty chair next to her bed, and a very tired looking Margaret holding a nausea bucket.
This is a hard time for her right now. She cannot move more than a couple of feet beyond her bed, due to the tubes. But her caregivers seem confident that she will be free of them in about two days or so.
Margaret requests that she have no visitors for a couple of days so that she can rest. She received a couple of cards in the mail today and enjoyed them. She has magazines to read and did watch a DVD video. Regular TV programs seem fragmented and noisy to her right now, so is not watching TV. She basically is very tired, has no appetite and suffers from nausea.
Concerned, I spoke with her PA and received a medical update. Here are the main points:
1. The bone marrow transplant is considered successful at this point; there are several positive indications, including:
2. Margaret's white blood cell counts have been steadily moving higher WITHOUT any WBC production stimulants needed. Hooray!
3. Platelet counts are also moving higher. Hooray!
4. Red blood cell counts are good, but because they have a longer cellular life span, the medicos don't know if they are leftover's from a blood transfusion a few days ago or newer cells recently produced in Margaret's bone marrow. But there is confidence that she will be producing all she needs on her own.
5. Due to anti-rejection drugs that must be administered to prevent graft-versus-host issues, Margaret's kidneys are not functioning as efficiently as they normally would. So she has fluid retention throughout her body right now. This is being monitored very carefully because it is a delicate balance.
6. Some fluid buildup in her lungs made breathing difficult and this is why she has a temporary fluid drainage tube in her right lung and why she is receiving supplemental oxygen. Both are producing the intended results, so it is hoped she can be off the oxygen and have the tube removed within a day or two.
7. None of this is unexpected or unusual with bone marrow transplant patients.
So, we will keep you updated. If you had any plans to visit Margaret at the hospital over the weekend, it would be best to postpone the visit for a couple of days.
Thanks for your continued updates Ken. Margaret can rest easy knowing you are keeping everyone in the loop, sparing her from having to repeat herself. Knowing you are there for her gives me comfort too. Once again thanks and thanks to Dylan for his part in this too.
WOW, MARGARET USING A FOOT DOUBLE...WHAT A BRILLIANT IDEA!!!
I wish I had thought of that LOL
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