The restrictions get tighter

Sure Happy It's Thursday. sigh.


The blood work today showed a very low ANC (absolute neutrophils) which means no more fresh food. No salad, no fresh vegetables, not even the celery sticks I had packed for lunch. They have been my vehicle of choice for eating 15 grams of protein via peanut butter.


It's temporary.

The good news is that I saw nurse practitioner Mary Burkhardt and she was a little more sympathetic to my hot flashes complaint. She gave me a prescription for something that might help them. Hot damn! In addition another friend suggested a small fan on the nightstand while I'm sleeping and that did make a difference last night. Pointed right at my head. (sigh of pleasure)


What is all this isolation and restriction about? The white blood cell count is .9. Normal is 4.5 - 11. So I am without defense against a bug of any sort. If I catch something it's going to be a big deal. and having such a low count means I've no defense against exposure either.


What's it like? I have my own bathroom that only I use. Someone cleans and disinfects it every other day. My bedding is laundered every other day. I am not permitted to clean or cook or launder. I have to sit around and let others do it (does the introduction of the Y chromosome make this easier?) All food has to be prepared here. There is a laundry list of things I cannot eat that runs along the lines of fermented or pickled. All food has to be cooked thoroughly...think well done steak and soggy asparagus.


Drink a gallon of water a day to keep everything working properly. Even my chair is disinfected regularly. I only wear my clothes once (I know I'm repeating myself.) I can eat chips and crackers but only if nobody else has had their hand in the bag. So some items in the pantry have rubberbands and CATHI ONLY labels.


The inside of the fridge has to be sanitized regularly, and all groceries sanitized before they go in there. To date that has been washing all fresh stuff thoroughly before it goes in the fridge. Now, I guess all bets are off. I can't eat it anyway. So mostly I eat vegetables and fruit from a can.


Nevertheless I look forward to first salad after this period. I remember clearly how tasty it was the last time.


So far no reactions to the transplant. and so far no indicators of graft either. All in good time. This is normal.


Cathi