Baldies' Blog began originally in the UK by a 26 year old journalist with a blood cancer on a mission to inform the world about bone marrow donation.

He has since died, and I took on the cause of making cancer care more transparent for everybody.

Cancer is a disease that will touch everybody through diagnosis or affiliation: 1 in 2 men will be diagnosed and 1 in 3 woman will hear those words, "You Have Cancer."

I invite you to read how I feel along my journey and
how I am continuing to live a full life alongside my Hodgkin's lymphoma, with me controlling my cancer, not my cancer controlling me.

I hope that "Baldies' Blog" will prepare you to handle whatever life sends you, but especially if it's the message, "You Have Cancer."

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Sunday, November 23, 2008

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.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah Hillary! I am glad you are coming home! Now you keep resting and drinking that ice water...no wine for you! If you need anything let me know! love ya hil!

emjay. said...

Yaaaay!! I'm sorry I missed you, I have a rockin' present for you....perhaps I'll mail it? I think you'll get a kick out of it for sure.

Anonymous said...

So happy you are home!
Carol

Frank said...

Way to go Hill ... love to hear about progress ... I'm thinking this is going to be an awesome Thanksgiving!!