A pretty uneventful day. Using my oxygen steadily and feeling a bit more energy. I did visit the infusion clinic this morning for my regular Magnesium boost and took the “portable” oxygen tank they gave me, loaded it into my backpack and walked home from the clinic to our apartment. My problem is that with the recent hospitalization I am even more out of shape. I need to work back up and rebuild my muscles. I have lost about 10-pounds of weight here since the Day-zero of transplant and I feel a big part of that is my muscle mass. Sharon is cooking up a storm for me, and as I mentioned the Prednisone is not only helping my lungs but my appetite as well.

My blood counts continue to be good. Today my Hb was up to 11 and my platelets and white cells continue to be in good shape

Tomorrow bright and early I need to be at the clinic at 7:15am for a full morning and early afternoon of visits. Hope your weekend was pleasant.

Larry and Sharon

A momentous day as I broke free of the hospital. All went smoothly which was good so we were able to beat the Uber rush that will be servicing tonights Taylor Swift concert in the football stadium with a Seattle Mariners baseball game going on simultaneously in the field next door.

Being out of the hospital feels great. I hope to continue to improve. Upon arriving home I was able to meet our new R2D2 home oxygen device. A behemoth and loud. Lucky for me my hearing sucks so I don’t hear the grind of the motor. Not so good for Sharon. We will try to place it in as far away a closet or bathroom for the evening so she can try to sleep as it will need to be pumping away for me.

The equipment comes with what is referred to as a portable unit. We tried to fill the tanks to find out that one of the tanks they gave me is defective. The main valve does not seal so when it is opened to supposedly place oxygen into the nasal cannulas the oxygen just escapes through a top valve. We called Apria and through a lot of explanation convinced them then need to come out tomorrow and take care of this, so I have something to get me up and back to the clinic.

We were able to fill the second “portable” bottle and it did work. So after dinner we ventured outside and took a short walk to the Lake Union shore. Now I am not sure what is considered portable, but this oxygen bottle is heavy. When we got home I weighed it and it was 8+ pounds. I know not as bad as a heavy backpack but very awkward and will not allow me to get very far.

I took a look on the Internet today, of course, as see that portable oxygen systems can weigh anywhere from 3-5 pounds. Much more manageable I think to allow me to get back to walking. If Medicare will not cover it, I think it will be a worthwhile investment for my mind and body.

As to my scorecard today happy to report that I walked 3,000 steps over 1-mile distance through the day. At least a start. My other labs are good, although with the Prednisone I am taking my blood sugars have bumped up a bit. I have no doubt that will recover as I taper off the Prednisone over the next 2-weeks.

As an emotional part of the day, as if I needed any more, we were able to video screen time with Lila to wish her a happy birthday. Life is good.

Larry and Sharon

Well, half way through my stay here after transplant which is supposed to be 100 days. I do hope the next 50-days are a bit smoother than the last 10.

I am anticipating being discharged from the hospital tomorrow. Many moving parts, not the least of it is getting me home oxygen. That has been a bit of a circus today. Apria home health is the provider. The initial calls with them seemed hopeful. A large scale oxygen tank was delivered to my room to get me home, only to be discovered by my very astute nurse that the tank was empty. So off the delivery guy went to get a new tank.

At our apartment Sharon waited for a delivery that turned out to be a oxygen generator for me to use. All good except Sharon said it sounds like a freight train when it is in use. They also included 2 small “bottles” that I could walk around with as they are carried in a sling. These walk around bottles may give me 3-hours of oxygen and take 4-hours each to charge up. I continue to be amazed at how healthcare works and what is offered as treatment options.

Bottom line is that I need to recover and lose my need for oxygen supplements. I will work on that.

Otherwise the day was pretty uneventful. I take my meds, I took a walk around the halls today. Sharon prepared another delicious dinner. Tomorrow is our granddaughter Lila’s second birthday. I hope to be home so we can video with her and sing our happy birthday song. Next year it will be in person.

Larry and Sharon

Hi. Still posting from my hospital room. A couple of decent size events today.

First off, all the teams got together as there is still nothing growing from the bronchoscopy washes i had this past Tuesday. Many viruses have been checked and are all negative. Tomorrow will be the last dose of my antibiotic unless some bacteria of note comes up growing from the cultures taken. The decision was to start me on a course of Prednisone thinking that the aspiration pneumonia is more inflammatory than infective. 40mg started today and will continue for several days before a taper. The upside is this helps cool things down and maybe even my ear canals may open up. The downside is that if the theory is wrong any real infections could get worse. Again, as is becoming my mantra, time will tell.

The other event is that I have been freed. Meaning the viral droplet quarantine I have been under has been lifted. So you can guess what I did. I walked out of my room. Along with an Oxygen tank Sharon and I did 4-laps around the floor today. Felt great to be out. Tomorrow I think they are going to walk me around, with Oxygen and an O2 Sat meter to see how much Oxygen I may need when I am discharged. Between the Prednisone, which always produces a bit if a high, and breaking out of the confines of my room, I am a bit more optimistic today. Still a rough road to go down.

I am kind of fed up with hospital food. Sharon has been great with bringing me tuna and dinners from home. Not sure what state I would be without her. Hope you are staying cool.

Larry and Sharon

As days go, this one was pretty unremarkable. I am resting comfortably in my hospital room, continuing on oxygen although they are trying to reduce the flow to less than 2L if I can stay stable on that.

So far the samples that were taken at bronchoscopy have not shown anything, which is good. We are waiting on the final cultures, hopefully in a day or two.

In the next couple of days I will have a recheck of my lungs via CT scan and an evaluation from the physical therapy team as to whether I can live with or without oxygen. I am told they will do this by walking me around a bit and climbing some stairs. They will measure my O2 Sat during the process and if need be order oxygen for me at our home base apartment here.

The remainder of my scorecard is stable although my Hb/HCT have again fallen slightly as has my ANC.

If the plan holds I may be discharged this weekend. That would be so great. Just a change of scenery would do me well.

In what might be the biggest news today is that I figured out how to turn my Apple Airpods into hearing aids. My hearing is still trashed and at least with this I can hear Sharon and others without their having to yell at me. I do hope that this is temporary. We have a long way to go yet.

Larry and Sharon