Coming Home

I came home! Yes, I got a get-out-of-the-hospital free card. The plan went better than planned.
When exactly does that happen? Specifically, when does that ever happen to me?
I guess it was time. I can’t have bad luck forever. It’s the Law of Averages. Science can not treat me like this forever.
My labs, I hear, looked great. I did not spike a single temperature (of course, because I was in the hospital and they want evidence). My blood culture was negative. I don’t even know that they did with the sputum.
I was drinking a lot of ice water so my average temperature kept coming out to 96.6. Whatever. Now, at home, it is still behaving. I’m at 98.9.
I did force Kristen to touch me when she woke me up at night so I could prove I do have nasty night sweats.
It amazes me how few night nurses actually touch their patients while they’re sleeping. During my first transplant, my fever broke, I was drenched through my clothes, too weak to call for help, in too much pain to move, and shaking with the chills for what seemed like an eternity.
Finally, when a nurse came in, I asked her to touch my head. Her shock surprised me, but she came through with something to make me more comfortable.
The nurses are fabulous on 4C. I had some fun with them despite my misery. You can see some of them in the picture on the right.
Dr. A and Co. came in and said I looked great.
I had forced myself out of bed and changed my clothes, an obvious progression from the days before.
Something amazing I discovered while being a patient at The Farber, my specific doctor is on-call for me every time I call!
He said the specialists agree to do this for the patient’s sake.
WHAT?! This is an amazing concept I NEVER EVER thought would be put into practice.
The first time I had him paged, I argued with the page clerk that I wanted the allo transplant on call, and I didn’t believe her when she told me she had to page my doctor.
This part of my treatment is even better than room service at Brigham & Women's.
When exactly do they get a break? I’m beginning to really wonder if this man remembers what his family looks like.
How can you not trust that kind of dedication?
I don’t think I’d ever be a doctor specifically due to the call factor. That reason and I am an alpha nurse who loves nursing practice for its fundamental differences from medicine.
I had received a couple doses of Ceftaz and got sent home with a script for Augmentin.
I still have phlegm that wants to be expelled. I am exhausted, but really, I did just have a transplant about 42 days ago. Relative to what I could be feeling, I’m good. I intend to stay that way. Thanks for the support.