The climb continues

The white count continues to climb to 1.0: It's another day closer to being out of neutropenia. Still no neutrophils yet (those are the germ-fighting white cells). The magic number of neutrophils is 500 -- that's when he gets to come home (providing everything else is OK). Doc suspects Vlad may go home as early as Wednesday. We're all accentuating the positive.

Vlad's mouth is still very sore. Excuse this vivid picture: There are at least 20 cancre sores on his lips alone. One can only imagine the inside. This should be history in days. He's being sustained by yogurt, soup, apple juice, cottage cheese, Jell-O and warm tea. He can't take his potassium pills (they're too big and he refuses to drink them in juice), so his nurse Clementine found him a banana, washed the peel good (neutropenia protocol), peeled it and cut it into pieces for him. It was not easy, but he got his potassium. It may be easier to add it to his saline next time.

He lost some more weight; total loss stands at 24 pounds.

He brightens up when folks visit. There weren't any visitors tonight, but he got a lot of phone calls.

My condition has been worsening again. I went back to the doctor today for more antibiotics. He fears possible walking-pneumonia and sent me for a chest X-ray. I don't think it's that bad. Since getting back from the doc's about 6 pm, I've been in bed with meds. I feel much better, but it's too soon to tell.

If I had a lot of money I'd build a huge, gilded monument to my mother who's been slaving in my house for days chasing dusty bunnies from hell and cooking soups and Jell-O for her son-in-law. While I run in and out. She's a rock that never wavers. Thank God for her.