Day +5 - +13

Hey everyone. Everything has been such a blur over the past few days so I'll put as much as I can remember.
Day +4: Was an ok day. My WBC were at 0.19 and all of my other counts looked ok. I couldn't eat anything because I couldnt swallow because of the mouth sores. I felt ok otherwise. That is reallly all that I can remember from that day.

Day +5: I cant remember what all happened that day but I can tell you that it was one of my low days because my WBCs were at 0.09.

Day +6: On this day I had to get platelets because mine were too low at 26.8. My WBC hit their lowest point at 0.07. I really dont remember what all went on this day. I know that I couldn't eat because of the sore mouth. and was literally drained of all energy. Mark left on this day to go home to take care of a few things and to spend time with Allie. Mama came over to stay with me.

Day +7: This day my WBC was .11. Starting to come up a little bit. All that I  know is that I was feeling bad and couldn't eat. Also, on all of these days I was walking at least once or twice to get a little bit of exercise. And I have to do mouth care 3-4 times a day. The doctors all said that it helps get out of the hospital quicker. I think this was the day that I let mama shave my head. My scalp began to hurt pretty bad and my hair was coming out onto the pillow and when I would shower. She used her clippers to shave it using the #1 blade. That made things a lot easier and my scalp didn't hurt near as much.

Day +8: This day my WBC was .13. Still coming up but not by much. I don't remember much about this day other than the crappy stuff.

Day +9: This day mama went back home and Mark came back to be with me. Mama left pretty early in the day and I slept until Mark got here around 5:00pm.  My WBC was 0.22. Slowly coming up.

Day +10: My WBCs were .85, nearly quadrupling from the day before. This is the day they call engraftment. This means that my stem cells have made it to my bone marrow and are now making new cells.

Day +11: This day my WBC jumped all they way to 2.91. My hemoglobin was 6.7 so I had to recieve a unit of blood. They transfuse if it is less than 7. I started to feel a little better this day. My tounge and throat started to produce a lot of secretions and the old skin started to peel off. I was able to eat a little this day.

Day +12: My WBCs were a whopping 6.23 on this day. My mouth was a lot better on this day, all new skin on my tongue and I could swallow without it hurting so bad. I ate cherrios for breakfast and then a little mashed potatoes for dinner. I was feeling much better this day. The docs told me today that all of the antibiotics especially the Zosyn and Vancomycin had done a number on my kidneys. Thankfully they said the damage was reversible but it would take a few days of watching the numbers to get them flushed out and back to working properly.

Day +13: Today was a good day all in all. My WBC are 4.61 and all other numbers look good. My kidneys still aren't looking the best but the Creatinine shows to be leveling out and the doctors think that they will soon clear themselves. They gave me a bag og IV Sodium Bicarb tonight to hopefully help the kidneys flush themselves. The good news is that the doctors have plans on discharging me tomorrrow if all of my numbers look good in the morning. I pray they do because I'm so ready to get out of here and see my sweet Allie. The plans are for her and Nana to come over tomorrow and we have gotten a hotel for 4 days. I have to stay in Birmingham for another 1-2 weeks for daily clinic visits to check my numbers and make sure everything looks ok. When Allie and Nana go back home we will stay at the townhouse until I'm released to go home home (back to Columbus).

I want to thank you all for the support and prayers throughout this whole process. It means the world to me. I feel much better although I am still pretty weak and get fatigued very easily. I have basically no appetite or desire for food but eat because it will make me stronger (and my tummy lets me know its hungry). I pray that this is the end of my journey with cancer and I can go on to live the rest of my life without worrying about that. Thank you all again for the overflowing prayers and support. Much love to all of you.