John is doing GREAT!

I hope writing about how John is doing with his chemo isn't too repetitive or boring. I guess if it is, you can always skip it. I say this because over the past couple of weeks, I've lost a follower and gained a follower twice. And I can't figure out who it was either time.

Anyway! I just got home from spending the day at HUP (The Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania) with John. I'm happy to report that he spent no time in bed! Last month, he was in bed all the time, and his fatigue was something else! I kept telling him, "You have to keep moving, you have to fight the fatigue or it will just get worse." This time I reminded him that lying in bed all the time, he could develop blog clots in his legs and he needs to keep his circulation going. THAT got his ass up!

I'm starting to bring my own food for me to eat. The cafeteria sucks and I can't keep spending $20-30 a day for food! There's a microwave and a fridge in his room, so I'm going to bring some Lean Cuisine-type meals for me to have.

We're hoping he gets sprung tomorrow. He can leave as soon as his chemo is finished, even if it's in the middle of the night. (he better not call me in the middle of the night for a ride home!) Unless, of course, he starts with any vomiting, which he did not have last month.

Today I saw quite a few patients wearing gowns, masks and gloves. I think they were all transplant patients. Everyone walks the halls to get some kind of exercise. Around and around they all go, pushing their IV poles. John and I did our fair share of walking around today.

One thing we learned is John can go off-floor and sit in the courtyard for some fresh air. He's not allowed to do that now because he's on constant chemo. He needs to be on the floor in case one of his bags empties and it needs replacing. But if he were getting it every 8 or 12 hours and had some down time, we could go outside. Also, after his transplant we could do it too.

John brought his laptop with him and several DVD movies. Today we watched You Can't Take It With You with Jimmy Stewart and Lionel Barrymore. It was a good flick! I love those old movies! After dinner we watched The Fifth Element with Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich. It was.. um.. ok, I guess. I remember seeing it years ago and I guess I didn't catch the humor back then. It seems like it was a farce! We also played some Othello and some Backgammon, and watched a few shows on TV this evening.

The thing that really bothers me is, I'm the only visitor John has. Last month his sister visited for a bit and my niece, who is a post op nurse at HUP stopped by a few times. Katie (my niece) is off this weekend and I think John's sister was at the beach. But his brothers know he's there and 2 of them live in the city! Granted, one of his brothers lives in Maine but 2 are in Philly and 1 is right across the bridge in NJ. They don't even call to see how he is or if he needs anything!

John doesn't have a relationship with any of his kids (the one thing about him I don't like), so, of course, he won't hear from them. Being in the Army all those years, he couldn't be near them, so he chose to distance himself from them. I think he regrets it now. He has 2 sons from his first marriage and a daughter from another marriage. Ah, well... it was his choice ot make and I don't agree with it.

So that's my update for today and I have no idea how to end this! LOL