Day 42 Admission

Dear friends and family,

Today was an "up" day on the roller coaster ride of HUP. Bobs' hgb is 9.0, his platelets are 26,000, his white count is 3.9 and drumroll please......ANC is 746!!!! The CXR done yesterday is normal, and Bob only has slight chest discomfort if he takes a very, very deep breath. But the best news is that his antibiotics were finally switched to pill form. They were started this evening after a fax came with the sensitivity(I'm guessing it came from Timbuktu). The sensitivity drew a blank as far as actinomycoses(bug that was cultured from the gum wound), so the ID dr. simply put Bob on the oral equivalent of his IV antibiotic....something we both thought would be done from the start. So why the delay?? Your guess is as good as mine. But enough grousing. Bob was told he could come home tomorrow evening and he said no, he wanted to wait until Thursday am. That way his counts will be back and he can get "tanked up" with blood and platelets before he leaves. That also gives us some breathing room for the weekend as far as his counts go. I expect the visiting nurse from HUP will come on Monday and draw labs, but we'll go over all that tomorrow.

Bob had a good day...uneventful(which always makes for a good day). He had some unexpected company, which was nice since I had my "day off". I'll take the train down early tomorrow and will spend the day w/ Bob.
I had dinner tonight with Deb and Joe, and Debbie looks great. She will see her hem/onc MD tomorrow at Penn to schedule her next round of consolidation chemo. Thank you guys for a lovely evening. Yvonne and Lee, Bob was finishing up the last Sherlock Holmes story tonight....there were 3 or 4 stories on that dvd and he really enjoyed them. Tonight he requested that I bring "The Outlaw Josey Wales" for his viewing pleasure tomorrow night, so I picked that up at Blockbuster. Once again I have to thank Matt for the DVD player(and D&J for the use of yours before Matts' arrived) he sent his Dad...Bob has watched something every night for several weeks now, and says it helps so much to make the evening go by quicker. The nights I imagine are the hardest time to be in the hospital...those quiet hours when the activity dies down, but before sleep takes hold. Those are the hours Bob filled with CDs, books, and DVDs. So thanks to everyone who sent anything for Bobs' listening, reading or viewing pleasure. BKH, I forgot to tell you Bob said the cd was very soothing and liked to play it right before he fell asleep. Bill, I imagine Bob told you he has already started the first of the series you sent.

EVERYONE has been so wonderful. Tonight the request for continued prayers and positive thoughts comes from Bob. I just spoke with him and he wanted to thank everyone and asked that you pray for discharge on Thursday as scheduled. Bob is officially anxious to come home, and I am longing for the same. Thank you again for your unwavering support.

All our love,
Bob and Mo