August Special Guest Posting

Dear Fods,

Hey everybody! Here I am at HUP-- this is Debbie and Joe is typing. I have been here since Monday with a bad case of bacterial sinusitis with no WBC to fight it. I had a rough couple of days with a throat so sore and swollen that I could hardly swallow. They actually scoped me three times to make sure that my airway would stay open. Fevers were up to 103 for a few days which did not ease my fear that I might somehow end up in ICU. But with three different antiobiotics running, platelets, fluids and very careful monitoring, I think that I am now on the mend. Doctors are saying that they are not sure why the neupogen didn't help to keep my WBC up. Either it is because of the overwhelming bacterial infection in my sinuses and my throat or the leukemia may be raging again. I also now have a cellulitis in my right arm from a an IV stick that is painful but I still feel way better than I did on Monday when they admitted me.

So it is one day at a time for now and I am hoping to get out of here on Sunday or Monday. My counts will need to come up and stay up and I will need to be fever free before they will let me out of here.

Needless to say, the clinical trial that I was participating in was stopped on Monday. As a result, I am feeling much less nauseous and my appetite seems to be coming back. I even ate a little hospital food last night for dinner! We are not sure when the clinical trial will be resumed and I should get a bit of a break at the end of the summer which will help me to get my strength back.

Thanks to everyone for the blogs, cards and visits.

I love you all.

Debbie