Mick McKellar Update--Day +42
Shortly after I started writing a journal entry yesterday morning, our Internet connection went down for the day/night. It frightened me, just a bit, how dependent I've become on that pipeline. Our Skype phone service was gone, e-mail was gone, Facebook gone. I improvised: I read.
Nasty surprises
Rising this morning was not the slow morning ritual of two folks who woke up on time, but the radical jitterbug of two over-sleepers who had less than 30 minutes to catch the Patient Shuttle -- the second one -- we had already missed the first one -- and get to Mayo Clinic for my morning blood tests. So, we skipped the morning check and did not notice...
There is a shiny new rash over more than half my body.
Is it the Bactrim or GVHD? To be safe they stopped the Bactrim, but nothing can be done for certain until a biopsy of the rash is done. That is scheduled for tomorrow morning. They already had me pick up the cream (yuck) and Prednisone (double yuck) -- to be ready to act instantly when the biopsy comes back. But wait, there's more...
Numbers, only numbers
My creatinine is higher than ever and there are indicators that something is causing my liver to have problems. These may be the opening salvos of a war with GVHD. This was not unexpected, but we really had hoped to avoid battling acute GVHD. More testing will be done, of course, but I think we are in for a fight.
Counting chickens
I was always warned by my parents about "counting your chickens before they hatch." Yet, there I have been, building my coop, not knowing some "sick chickens" were on the way.
The doctors have been telling me just how quickly things can turn around, but an instant rash was not my first guess. And now they had me fill a prescription for Prednisone -- the steroid that turns normal Mick into diabetic Mick for the duration of treatment. What fun, sticking fingers and injecting insulin.
Glimmers
Is there a bright light in all this gloom and doom? Certainly! I am still not in the hospital for treatment. So many here have to be admitted for days of IV antibiotics and other treatments, and so far, my only "overnight" was for the transplant itself, now 42 days ago! We have been shooting for an all outpatient BMT, and we still pray for that every night.
Also, there are other options to the dreaded nebulizer, not as good as Bactrim or pentamidine, but effective. And today, I was able to discontinue my anti-nausea drugs.
And then there is my secret weapon: Your prayers and good thoughts that give us hope. I have dozed off a thousand times, and every time, I come back to a wonderful day. I pray often to the Lord and say I am ready if it is time. Once, I heard a distant voice saying, "Oh will you shut up about that already?" But, it could have been Marian.
The mail comes, even when the Internet is down, and we have received some beautiful cards, with prayers and wishes. Thank you. E-mail and Facebook postings have all been positive. Thank you.
Good bless you all,
Mick
By the way: Sir Knight and Brother Bob Long is also down at Mayo Clinic for testing today. Please pray for him as well.