THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE BEAUTIFUL
The hair loss was expected and was eventually going to happen. Happy Early Halloween!!
THE GOOD: This week the Transplant Team here at Mayo Clinic is celebrating their 10,000th transplant. They were pretty excited. Amazing to us was the fact that their very first Transplant patient from 60 years ago is still alive and was going to attend the party. Note that none of us current patients, even the 10,000th, are invited. Every one of us is immunocompromised and if someone brought in an infection or virus, the entire staff would be very busy for a long time. But we can say we were there when number 10,000 took place. We are in very good hands. The average employee tenure here is 14 years. Many we meet have been here for over 20 years. Most of the doctors did their initial fellowship here and are still here decades later. Having the right specialist, a doctor that does nothing but MM, is key to a proper recovery and remission.
THE BAD: After a couple days of reprieve, Hanna woke up with a fever this morning. We got to go in early so they could deal with the possible infection ASAP. More blood draws for bacterial infection testing. She's still on a strong two-a-day antibiotic, and the Doctor told us that having a fever on day 12 is typical. The new blood cells are successfully working hard which causes a fever. But 10% of the time it is a nasty infection, so, they have to exercise an abundance of caution. Hanna says that yesterday was the worst day so far for nausea. She did manage to struggle through the required minimum of protein grams, calories, and ounces of water (100 ounces, that's a lot!) She also finally developed a mouth sore on her tongue and another more irritating one in her throat. That makes it hard to swallow anything. They gave her medicine to numb all that.
MORE GOOD: Monday, her White Blood Cell count went from "can't measure a thing" to .01. YEA!!!! PROGRESS!!! Those cool stem cells apparently did make it home to the bone marrow and are now working hard. Yesterday, it was at .02. This discouraged Hanna a bit, but I showed her the math on it..........that's a 100% INCREASE in ONE DAY!. This morning, it was at .03. Slowly, but surely.
We asked about the matrix that we need to reach to be released to go home. There are three measurements:
1. Neutrophils, a type of White Blood Cell, need to be at 500 for three days in a row. (So far, she has no measurable Neutrophils.)
2. Platelets have to be above 20 with no transfusion in at least a week. (They were at 21 this morning, but dropping rapidly since the transfusion on Sunday.)
3. She has to feel healthy enough to travel.
Most patients are cleared on Day 20. (Today is Day 12).
THE BEAUTIFUL: See the play-by-play below. The hair was falling out in huge clumps, so our nurse for the day graciously volunteered to shave it off.
Before.....................
She made that very cool hat herself and is now working on mine, which will be JEEP green.
This was actually a sad event. No one, especially a female, wants to lose their hair. In fact, one of our first "meetings" (Hanna still swears it wasn't a date........) we had lunch together to discuss our respective businesses. Two hours later, after we had talked about relationships, family, and everything except business, my Office Manager called and told me "the clients are waiting....." and we had to conclude one of the most fun lunches ever. At that lunch, I was mesmerized by her beautiful hair and was distractingly and continuously tempted to reach over and touch it. That obviously would have alarmed her! So, I behaved myself. But right now, we both kind of wished I had.
No worries. It will start growing back in about 90 days. Many times, it comes back differently than it was when it fell out. She has placed her order for white, curly hair. Until then, she has quite the collection of hats she will be showing off.
What I knew, and has been verified to me today, is she is very beautiful with and without hair. In fact, I think she is very sexy with no hair.
Today's Miracle: This entire Mayo Clinic, its cheerful and wise staff, its research, and its 10,000 transplant patients is clearly a miracle. Our most recent Doctor says "God Bless You!" before leaving our exam room each and every time. Blessings.
Hanna's 2-Bits:
How ever big or deep or strong you setback-- your Comeback can be stronger and bigger and higher!
Focus on the Comeback rather than the setback.
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