What now?

Eric has been in the hospital for two weeks now, and the minimum length of time we were quoted was four weeks, so we could be halfway done!  Or not, since the maximum length of time we were quoted was six weeks.  So what is Eric still doing in the hospital if he received the stem cells almost a week ago?

We are now playing a waiting game.  There are two things that the doctors are waiting for before Eric can be released.  First, the chemotherapy caused his blood counts to crash because it killed his bone marrow.  Now the donor stem cells are slowly starting to produce new bone marrow.  It will take awhile before the new bone marrow multiplies enough to make sufficient blood cells to keep Eric going.  In particular, the doctors worry about his immune system because of the lack of white blood cells.  They can give him whole blood to raise his hematocrit, and they can give him platelets, but they can't give him a transfusion of white blood cells.  So we have to wait until his immune system is strong enough for Eric to survive in our germ filled home.

The other thing we are waiting for is to see if Eric develops something called Host Versus Graft Disease.  This is what happens if the body starts to reject the stem cell transplant.  Acute HVGD will show up in the next few weeks.  Chronic HVGD can occur anytime in the next few years.  HVGD can be mild and easily treated or it can be serious and very difficult to treat.  Eric is checked out thoroughly multiple times a day so they can detect the very first symptoms of anything going wrong.

Amazingly, Eric is doing great.  He hasn't even lost his hair yet.  He is off of all pain medication and they are reducing his anti-nausea medications.  So far he hasn't developed any mouth sores, which are common, or rashes, or significant diarrhea.  Instead, he is gaining strength and stamina.  Eric's goal is to walk 25 minutes, three times a day.  It used to take him five laps around the hospital floor to walk for 25 minutes.  He has had to up it to six laps to walk 25 minutes, and in the near future it will be seven laps to make 25 minutes.

We have a pretty good routine going.  I am able to spend most of my time at the hospital, but still get the things done at home that are needed.  Neither of us has gone crazy from the sensory deprivation of a fairly small hospital room.  Eric is sick of the hospital food, but since nothing tastes good right now, that is to be expected.  I try to sneak in treats to him on a regular basis.  Tomorrow I am sneaking in a TV dinner because that is what he is craving at the moment.  Wish me luck!