DAY +65: a Good Report

Today it was Dana Farber for Susan and Bob (actually, just for Susan; Bob's only the driver). First, the vampires (a.k.a. phlebotomy unit), then Nurse Amy. Rather than list a lot of numbers with milligrams and decaliters and all that other foreign metric stuff that we Americans don't understand and shouldn't have to, suffice it to say that Susan's got great blood these days, and Nurse Amy says she's coming along nicely now. To be entirely honest, the potassium was a little bit low, but nothing that a banana or two a day can't handle.

She's lost another 6 pounds since her last visit (9 days ago) and 27 pounds overall, but I don't encourage you to try the Susan Kargman Siegel Bone Marrow Transplant Recovery Diet at home. Of course, much of that weight was retained fluid from the ascites, which is clearly much improved, but some has been lean body mass. She needs to build back up, so there'll be a focus on protein rich shakes to supplement her daily hard-boiled egg and mid-afternoon cheese hit.

By the way, the fact that she's had a good checkup doesn't mean that suddenly she feels fine. The lingering effects of her conditioning regimen and the transplant itself will continue to linger, though with diminishing intensity over time (we hope). She still has not so good days and somewhat better days, with some ability to nudge "lousy" (see, no more Y words) towards "so-so" or even better through the judicious use of drugs.

Her next scheduled checkup is in a week, and that will be my next scheduled blog post, unless something unusual happens in the interim.