"Day 11" & Hanging in There!

Today has been much like yesterday as far as Ray hitting the low point in this transplant process. The fatigue & slight confusion continues. The worst problem he seems to have right now is the ongoing mucositis & we expect that to continue for at least a few more days as they gave him the last dose of anti-rejection meds today that are what's causing this condition. That pain is awlful. In fact, sadly they tell us it will probably get worse before it gets better! And because of that, they have now hooked him up to an IV that is pumping continuous pain medicine into him. Plus he has another bag hooked to it that allows him to push a button to dispense additional pain meds when it gets really bad. Not to worry tho, it only allows him so much every ten minutes so he doesn't overdose on it. If interested, you can read a little more about this mucositis 
at this link> Click here

In addition to the above issues, he has developed a fever now so they are changing some of his antibiotics around to combat that situation. That too is being administered through the IV. Couple the fever with a slightly elevated heart rate, & they are monitoring him very closely. He will be tethered to the IV pole 24/7 for at least a couple of days until they can get him more stabilized. Something tells me that we aren't gonna get a whole lot of undisturbed sleep for the next couple of nights because the monitor continually alerts us with loud beeping whenever his vitals go out of the desirable range. So far today that's happened a LOT. If he wiggles his feet as he sometimes does (kind of a nervous habit of his) it sets it off. If he grimaces in pain which he does a lot too, it cause his oxygen level to drop & sets the monitor to beeping again. Probably because he somewhat holds his breath then - a natural reflex. 

All the meds & things are causing Ray to be very unsteady on his feet now & he can't really be trusted to walk without assistance. So today the physical therapist brought him a walker & a safety belt to wear when he takes his daily walks. I think the belt is more for us to hold onto him so he don't get away from us! It's a real pain to have to drag the IV pole around with him when he walks. But worse than that is dealing with that contraption when he has to use the bathroom or take his daily shower! But it is what it is & we're dealing with it. I dare not leave him alone for too long now. Yes the nurses are nearby but they can't be in the room with him every minute. And of course he's more comfortable with me when it comes to the bathroom chores.

Today he did finally get "The Haircut". His hair was falling out in groves so they buzz him short to help the transition. After his buzz they brought him two lovely knitted hats that he can wear to keep his head warm, knitted by volunteers. I'm sure you'll see photos of those eventually! While the lovely lady was buzzing his hair, he was enjoying watching another Reds baseball game. We're so happy that they have free wireless internet here & he can watch on his laptop, while I play on my laptop updating this blog among other things.I will need to make a trip back to our place tomorrow to do a little laundry for a couple of hours but the nurses assure me that they'll keep a close watch on him while I'm gone. 

By the way, it didn't take the staff here long to get Ray's number. His mood has remained very good despite what he's going through. Everyone jokes with him. And one nurse jokingly threatened him because he led her to believe he couldn't walk AFTER she had made him get up for her. I finally laid the law down to him & made him agree to never mislead these wonderful nurses again, cause otherwise they'll never know when to believe him or not. So now the back & forth teasing is very light hearted & fun!
 

Getting his transition Buzz

Watching Reds at same time. (Notice the IV pole)

Taking his daily walk (therapist pulling IV pole along for him)