November 15, 2008 7:40 PM

Well, it certainly was a quiet day. But not one without any moments. Medicationwise, all that was needed was some potassium, the last day of the anti-nausea drug (yeah!!), and an anti-biotic.

I am now officially neutropenic which means that my white blood cell count (neutrophils) is so low that should I contact any type of infection – it could be life threatening. This is to last 7 to 10 days and the expectation is that my body will then start to build up those counts on its own. As to how your body feels – you have no clue that you are in this state. From a hospital standpoint, it means that they monitor everything verrrrry closely and backfill with various IV treatments as necessary to make sure that my other counts are at the proper. I think the doctor put it best this morning when I commented that we are in a holding pattern for a while – he said that it was more like “protective custody”.

My appetite and ability to eat have returned rather quickly with the cessation of the chemo on Wednesday. For lunch today, I had a bowl of chili from the Au Bon Pain downstairs and it was really tasty! When the nurse was informed of this later on, she was incredulous that I could eat something as spicy as that so soon after the completion of the chemo. Tomorrow for lunch, I’ve asked my daughter to bring me a pastrami and cheese sandwich – I am so looking forward to that!

I have to have food brought in. Because, other than some breakfast foods, the food that I have ordered ranges from barely palatable to completely inedible. When I informed the nurse of my opinion this morning she claimed that the quality of the food has improved! If so, I wonder what the rank below inedible is!

I had a substitute doctor drop by this afternoon. He could not believe how well I was doing for someone who had just come through chemo. Reading between the lines, my wife and I gathered that I was supposed to be so drained by the chemo experience that I would be barely able to function at this point.

Also had a minor scare when they came in and said that I would have to change rooms! As I said before, this is a double room with the other bed removed so it allows us to set up a “lounge area” without everyone being crowded around the bed. Reluctantly, we made ready to move. After having done that, they came back and said that the move was off! Thank God we dodged that bullet! Hopefully permanently – but I have my doubts.

No visitors today. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law were going to come but they had to take my mother-in-law to the hospital to be treated for bronchitis and rightfully decided to not risk coming here afterward. I am eternally grateful!

In a nutshell, my health is still excellent for someone in my condition and we are still moving forward according to plan.

Bob