Day +11

Today is Day +11, and I am feeling as good as I have since entering the hospital. My white blood cells continue to increase, going from .718 yesterday afternoon, to .903 this morning, and 1.430 this afternoon. The absolute neutrophil count rose above .500 to .605 this morning. That means I am no longer neutropenic, and no longer have to take the antibiotic I've been on since my counts started dropping.

In addition to the good blood counts, my day was made better when my nurse let me know it was in the 60's outside and I could go take a walk. There was a nice breeze outside and it felt like the beginning of spring. I wasn't outdoors for a long time, but it was the first time I've been outside since December 9th. Its hard to believe that its almost been three weeks since I was admitted. Although parts of the day can be quite slow, the whole process is flying by.

My bladder issues are still a nuisance, but I think I observed the most improvement with that today. Another thing that has been bothering me the last 3 nights and not helping with my sleep has been some neuropathy in my toes. I've had slight neuropathy in my fingers with chemotherapy, but it didn't have a negative effect on my motor skills. However, my toes have felt like they were burning. I've found wasy to help deal with it, like placing them in a cold shower, putting lotion on them, and elevating my feet. However, those solutions only last a short amout of time, and I've been finding myself still awake with the burning toes. Tonight I was given some oxycodone for it, so hopefully that will help me get to sleep easier. Speaking of sleep...I can't wait to get back to my bed back home! I feel like I am getting to the end of my stay here, and the idea of going home is extremely exciting.