Progress

My husband is back!  Well, not back home -- not yet -- but he's back!  He's feeling so much better, and it's just fantastic to see.  He's still weak and gets tired easily, but he's making phone calls, he's on the computer, he's walking around the ward, he's eating meals -- all things he was unable to do for the last month.  I feel such relief, and also amazement at this poison/medicine that works so quickly.  I was speaking to one of the nurse practitioners on the floor today, and she said that's one of the (only) good things about lymphoma -- it responds really well and quickly to chemo.

They're still loading him up pretty good with various things -- he has IV antibiotics every day, sometimes IV diuretics to flush the chemo through the system.  Today he had a few bags of platelets, one quick shot of chemo (15 minute infusion of a single drug called vincristine), plus IV steroids and an injection of neupogen (which stimulates the bone marrow to make new blood cells).  His liver function is improving everyday, and now we're just waiting for his blood counts to go back up.  The doctors told us it takes about 10-15 days for the blood counts to return to normal -- just in time for the next chemo treatment to knock them out again.  We're hopeful that they might let him come home for a few days next week, before he starts round 2.  He's going a bit insane being in the hospital so long, though the nurses all love him, (well except that one he yelled at -- but he didn't mean it, it was the steroids!).  He's really missing the boys and being at home -- we're planning a family visit tomorrow, which should help us all get through a few more days.