Day "44"

It's Official...Jeff is going home...AGAIN! :) What a way to start a NEW YEAR! The doc took the catheter out this morning, and lets just say that it was an eye opening experience for Jeff...literally! She didn't tell him she was taking it out, she just yanked! He has been able to go to the restroom on his own (with the help of lasix because he has gained lots of water weight). We were told that some bleeding is to be expected--just not big clots! So the bladder has been checked off the discharge list. The lung doctor stopped by this morning, ordered a chest x-ray, and scheduled a follow-up in January. He is not worried about the 2000 mL + fluid in there unless Jeff becomes short of breath. So the the lung has been checked off the discharge list. Jeff is about to receive a bag of platelets, and then his daily "filler-up" will be complete. So, I believe we are almost ready!
Speaking of blood products, I was looking through some blood work results from before transplant and I was amazed! When Jeff went to Dr. Graf in St. George back in May for reoccurring sinus infections and mouth sores, the doctor ordered some blood work to be done. When he got those results, he immediately called Jeff and told him he was concerned. A healthy young man with a remarkable medical history shouldn't have low blood counts. Amazingly enough, some of those counts were lower then than they are post transplant! In the beginning of all of this (Dr. Graf), his White Blood Count (WBC) was 2.1, his hemoglobin was 13.5, his platelets were 127, and his ANC was 1.15. At this point, he wasn't considered severe, and he was not a candidate for a transplant. However, right before transplant, his WBC was 1.3, his hemoglobin was 6.2, his platelets were 12, and his ANC was .2! THEN...we all know what happened when the chemo started! Almost all ZERO's! As of today, his WBC is 2.51, his hemoglobin is 10.6, his platelets are 101, and his ANC is 2.2. Two days ago, some of those levels were even higher. I guess my point is that his new bone marrow from Joel is definitely making the blood that his own body could not. What an amazing process!
I have included some cute pictures..one of the breathing machine that has been and will continue to be Jeff's sidekick, and the other one is Jeff shaving his NEW peach fuss that was beginning to itch! HAPPY NEW YEAR...stick close to your loved ones! Let them know how much you love them, because you never know what next year (tomorrow) will bring! We love you!
NOTE: Chest x-ray just revealed a slightly less pleural effusion. Maybe the doc was right...it will resolve itself with time!