Day Thirteen

Unlucky for some maybe.... but not Jules! Her white cell count has increased to 3.5 ... and everything else "on the up" ....

Today she ventured out of the ward ... for the first time in 13 days .... and we went down to the Cafeteria in the main entrance to the Marsden .... just for some people watching ... and a change of scene....

Later back in the ward Jules asked me to call the nurse ... and so .... for some reason ,without really thinking.... I pressed what I thought was a call button.... hmmmm .... well a buzzer started going and then nurses started running in from everywhere .... seems I managed to press the emergency call button, and they thought Jules was having a cardiac arrest.... that livened up the day a bit....

The consultant was around today and thinks that Jules will probably be able to leave the hospital on Monday or Tuesday..... provided everything continues to improve as it has for the last two days..... Im sure it will!

Day Twelve

Well! .... What an improvement today.... cell count up to 1.5... ( remember anything above 5 is normal).... all other counts improving.... when I got to the hospital she was lying in bed listening to her i-pod, feet tapping away ..... having just had fish and chips for lunch! Temperature still normal.... and importantly... her sense of humour back.

So to pass the time we played scrabble .... who won? .... wandered up and down the ward... (she hasnt been out of the room for nearly four days)... chatted with the nurses and the on duty doctor..... they all seem pretty pleased with the way its gone.... getting back to normality...

She may not thank me too much for this photo.... but I just wanted to reassure you all that she looks fine... and feels so much better.... and I'm sure she'll be home soon.... and can get in touch with you all personally....

Its Friday..... have a drink to Jules health and recovery!

Day Eleven

Well by midnight last night Jules temperature had returned to normal.... and thats they way it has stayed all day .... Her white cell count is now 0.3 ... so thats heading in the right direction ... and then during this afternoon they gave her some platelets and blood by transfusion ..... thats not a cause for concern... they had said to me two days ago that that was in all probability what they would do.... it just speeds up the process of her achieving "normal" levels in her blood.

So by this afternoon she was a lot more cheery.... had a massage for the second day running! ... the nausea has reduced quite a lot... and had a cup of tea ... and put an order in for breakfast ..

So a big improvement on yesterday.... and if the improvement curve is an exponential one .... then she should feel even better tomorrow! .... Thanks to everyone for their good wishes, thoughts and messages of support.....

Day Ten

Well Jules is a "model" patient according to the senior nurse .... and by that she means that she has gone through all the symptoms associated with the stem cell transplant! ... So today she was feeling just the slightest bit better... less sleepy ... but has developed a temperature ... they immediately gave her antibiotics, and then whisked her off for a chest x-ray... to make sure she doesn't have a chest infection. ( No signs of one apparently.) They will now keep her on the antibiotics for at least the next 24hours.... and monitor her closely.

On a positive note her white cell count has now risen.... to 0.1... so slowly it will head back up. The mouth ulcers they thought would develop have not appeared, and I guess this is due to the stuff they gave her when they first saw signs of them.

How long will she be like this?.... apparently... she may well still feel pretty bad tomorrow, and maybe into Friday, the worst side effects last for up to four days ..... and so with luck she will begin to feel better from Friday......

Here's hoping....

Day Nine

Well you can't get much lower than zero! ... and today Jules white cell count was there first thing this morning. Its true to say that she doesn't feel that great.... and has spent a lot of time sleeping (which is good!) ... but as far as the nursing staff and the prof ( everyone calls him that!) are concerned she's doing really well. Her temperature, blood pressure and heartbeat are all completely normal .... all she has to do is avoid an infection!


They expect that her white cell count will stay at zero probably into tomorrow... but soon will pick up.... and she should begin to feel a bit better from Thursday ... and apparently ... this could not have gone much better than it has.... I'm sure thats the case because I've already had a conversation with the prof about her release dates ....

So hopefully today was the bottom of the curve ... all those positive vibes do have an effect .... Keep it going everyone!

Day Eight

A much better day! ... even though Jules white cell count was 0.1 first thing this morning .... and fast heading towards zero. Her nausea has subsided and she has been eating and drinking today ... and as you can see up and about .... and doing a crossword ...

The other visitor today was Professor Morgan ...who's pretty impressed at the way she has handled the whole thing.... he has explained that she will still remain at risk of infection until friday.... but on a reducing basis ... he said its 50:50 whether she will have a high temperature during this time.... so its fingers crossed time again! .... but not for much longer! So her own natural immunity will rebuild from now ......

So.... just about round the final mark .... and then the homeward leg .... thanks for all your messages .... and positive thoughts .... X

Day Seven

If I said that today Jules isn't feeling that great; then it would sound as if she's making no progress .... and in fact is going backwards..... Well it is true that today she probably feels about as good as Thursday ... the nausea has returned and she feels tired and has lost her appetite. So on the face of it you might be disappointed.... However the reason she feels worse is simply that her white cell count is now down to 0.6 ( when 5.0 or below is abnormal) .... and so her bodies immune system is extremely low...... but she still has a normal temerature and blood pressure ... which is really good news. Thats because tomorrow her white cell count will fall to 0.0 zero! .... and from there .... the only way is up.... because the new stem cells will start doing their job and rebuild her immunity.
As her nurse said to us ... to have got this far without an infection or high tempertature is fantastic ... tomorrow is the bottom of the curve in terms of feeling bad.... and so from Day nine she should start to feel better.....

So..... still keeping 'em crossed .... keep them positive waves heading over to the Marsden ... get through tomorrow .... X