Post Transplant- Day 13: Hair today….gone tomorrow.

After coasting along without any serious side effects other than the usual fatigue, we have hit a more than minor snag. W has been experiencing fluctuation in his blood counts needing transfusions of blood and platelets. He is feeling more nauseated and believe it or not he is losing his hair. After several courses of chemo over the last year, he has never lost his hair until now. The nurse noticed it on his pillow. He would reach up to smooth his hair and end up with a handful. Fortunately, he doesn’t have much to lose. I keep telling him I will bring him one of my knit hats to keep warm, and that now he fits in with the rest of the patients on the ward, who already have shiny pates. We tease each other about this to keep his spirits up. The hardest thing is the nausea. This means he is not eating and it is possible the doctors will put him on IV nutrition to keep his blood sugar under control. He had been eating so well over the last 13 days that I thought he was looking rounder around the middle, perhaps even gaining weight. We are told that it takes longer for a cord blood transplant to start working well. Does this mean that W. will be in the hospital longer? Time will tell.


I’ve been working full-time days lately. After work I go see W. and then come home to catch up on some chores and emails. I think all this is taking its toll on my energy level. The stress at work right now is not helping. This week is Staff Appreciation week, but I can hardly enjoy it.


One thing I will have to share from work is what happened yesterday. One of my coworkers found out that yesterday was our new boss’s birthday, so we planned a surprise potluck. Everyone was to bring something. There were no plans for a gift so I decided to buy some flowers for her from the entire staff. Before she arrived I put them in her office. Unknowing to me, there were four other staff members who did the same after my contribution. Someone came to me and said, “Have you seen the boss’s office? It looks like a garden!”. Apparently 5 other coworkers had brought flowers too. She was definitely surprised!


Status on the Knit Red Owl Sweater….I’ve joined the sleeves and body. Had a little difficulty getting the amount of stitches correct for the Owl pattern, but now have started in on the Owl pattern for the yoke. There going to be a lot of owls. I hope it will look right with the decreases.