November 6: T+12

Ryan's mouth is still sore, but hasn't gotten much worse since his last methotrexate yesterday.  His pain is being well controlled.

Ryan says his WBC has been steadily increasing since Sunday, but I don't have the numbers.  He got his first dose of neupegen today to stimulate WBC production, so I expect we'll start to see significant increases over the next few days.

They've started planning for his discharge.  A funny twist to this: someone told Ryan he'd be discharged on Thursday or Friday.  When he told me I started to freak out - part of me delighted that he'll have a change of scenery, etc.  But our reservations for Hope Lodge aren't until November 18th since we were told he'd be hospitalized for at least a month.....  We can't cook at the hotel, so I'm trying to figure out what on earth we'll do.  I called to see if we can get into the Lodge earlier - there are a few days available, but not the whole block.

Then Ryan's nurse told me he is nowhere near ready for discharge and it will be sometime next week at the earliest.  Whew......  I envisioned having to call for help and scramble around to do the deep cleaning that needs to be done within a week of him coming home, which was to b in December.  But I'm off the hook for now!

I'm sure Ryan is disappointed, but discharge this early didn't sound medically safe to me.  He'll need to be able to eat, off his IV narcotics and able to maintain blood cell production. 

Tim has spent the day with his knee iced, but his pain is MUCH less now that the blood has been removed and the brace keeps it stable. 

Having Dad oversee the homework is yielding big rewards.  Kaia is routinely bringing home 100's, and is actually telling us about quizzes and tests so we can help her review.  It's really neat to see her excited about her grades.  Pulling Dad's chain isn't as much fun as pulling Mom's ;) !!  MeiLin continues to be a perfectionist in school.

I've gotten several nights of good sleep and am grateful that Tim was home for the past few days.  Sad it took a painful knee, tho!  We've had very little time to talk or be together since all this started, and it's nice to spend time with my best friend.

Back to Boston tomorrow to talk with the experts about what to expect at discharge, and to plan on how to feed Ryan within his food safety guidelines in a hotel room with just a microwave for several  days.  I think I'll take along my crock pot so it's not all frozen nuked meals. 

Thanks to all those who have brought in meals for the family.  They're getting spoiled with all the best cooks in my church and at Tim's office cooking for them.  But desserts every night really needs to stop!!!

Thanks for all the prayers.  We see the fruits every day.  The nurses and doctors express amazement at how well Ryan has done.  I secretly keep fearing that things are going too well!!  The old cup-half-full thing.  But I'm beginning to believe that we're in the home stretch. 
---Barb