Tuesday was Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) 101 at Stanford Erica, Judy and I went to a class to learn more about transplants and get information regarding how to give her the best care when she leaves the hospital. (Erica cannot stop taking classes, she misses Fletcher too much!).
A few interesting facts we learned:
- Erica has to have her port removed and have a catheter put in on the other side of her chest. This will be done as an outpatient procedure prior to the BMT. Too bad because her port has not been a problem in the past.
- The day of her BMT is considered day zero. Today is -19 until her BMT. The day after her BMT will be Day 1. They call the BMT another "birthday." Like we need excuse for us to throw a party in a hospital!?! They don't know who they are dealing with. Instead of cake she gets an IV of "orangy/redish liquid" YUM! I guess we cannot bring in any candles either. We will figure out something. How about a pinata? Will security chase us out again!?
- When you come to visit both at the hospital and when she is home, you will be hosed down and bathed in purell. I am only slightly exaggerating. If you even think you have been around someone sick, you will have to wave from the street to get a glimpse of our gal. We will probably have masks for visitors and give you a duster to dust around! Antibacterial wipe anything you touch. Unlike the previous hospital stays, she will have visiting hours. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. I will be keeping a calendar again. Please e-mail me and we can confirm visitors: ocken@stanford.edu.
- They recommend that she get out for walks. SPF 30 for everyone!
- Water rations? Not with Erica. They recommend that she drink 3 liters of water a day.
- She will be back on the low-microbial diet. Any suggestions for bland processed food? Send them our way. Have a favorite type of canned soup? Cannot live without a certain type of frozen food? Some canned fruit we missed that actually tastes good?
Not with any surprise, Erica continues to be out and about, has high spirits and is filming a documentary! Oh yes. TV wasn't enough for her. She is moving on. No surprise right? Nothing gets in her way!
Friday, April 11, 2008
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8 comments:
am i missing something does she have a donor?
The same question here??!! Does she have a donor?? Thanks for answering....Always praying for Erica!!
And here! I am so hoping that this post means what we think it means, that Erica has a donor!!!!
I hope that this means that you found a donor!!
Erica, explain to us what -19 days means. I am holding my breath here. It was so the highlight of the evening seeing you on the screen for Follies! Thinking of you!
I can't wait to see her again, even if I have to wear a clean room suit!
Have you tried Royal Anne cherries from Oregon Fruit? You can get them from Amazon.com, check on the Groceries, then do a search for Royal Anne cherries - they will send a pack of 8 big cans and they are delicious, so refreshing and fresh-tasting.
I'd think fudge is probably low-microbe, right? All that sugar is bad for the little germies...
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