Monday, 16th March

Oh and how life is coming back to normal.  Well.... our Multiple Myeloma normal for now.

I cannot begin to explain how absolutely wonderful it is to have Jimmy home.  Home really does feel like home again.  We spent a lazy weekend sleeping in and watching lots of movies.  After being a daily customer at our local video shop before Jimmy had his stem cell transplant I hadn't been while he was in isolation as my evenings were spent catching up on paperwork and running 2 businesses after hours.  On returning this weekend I was very happy to see that the next seasons each of Downton Abbey and Game of Thrones have arrived so at the moment we are watching Downton Abbey and then we'll watch Game of Thrones.  I know....Jimmy watching Downton Abbey instead of golf???

It has been a bit of a let down not being able to have visitors but I think it has also been a good opportunity for Jimmy to slip back into the home routine.  He is still very weak and sleeps a lot during the day and is also managing a good nights sleep on a sleeping pill.  Our day at the moment comprises mostly of lots of pill taking at various times of the day as well as temperature taking.  It was our plan to get into the morning walk routine again but Jimmy is still too weak for this.  Hopefully from next week we can but I will need to drive to a flatter area as we have lots of hills here in our suburb.

Saying this though, he is coming on in leaps and bounds.  On Thursday when he came home he almost did not make it up the stairs and earlier today when we got back from the hospital he managed them much better.  I was also helping him to shower for the first 2 days and he is now managing this by himself but he is pretty exhausted after and usually falls asleep in his chair for an hour or two.  I have banned him from using the guest loo which is closer to where he sits in the lounge so he has to walk to our on-suite bathroom and he also does a daily walk or two to stand in the sun outside.  His appetite is so much better than in hospital but he still complains that everything is very salty.  We had his bloods done this morning at the clinic and the sisters wanted to know what his nurse had done to him over the weekend.  His white blood cell count has come up from 1.6 to 4.4, Platelets from 60 to 135 and his HGB has come up from 9 to 11.1.  This is wonderful news because apart from the fact that it means his body is producing nice strong stem cells he is now also less at risk of getting an infection.  Please note however, that any visitors must please make sure they have not been in contact with any sickies or feel off colour themselves.  Our blood cell counts are all normal and we still get sick and Jimmy's system is still very weak and his counts are still on the low side.  Getting an infection now would be a huge setback and jeopardise his recovery.

We have an appointment to see Prof on Wednesday  and need to go in a bit earlier so that Jimmy can have his Zobone infusion (Calcium) which strengthens his bones.  And we are hoping that a day or two after this he can have his Hickman Line removed. 

Everyone is so excited and counting the sleeps now as Megan flies in on Thursday just after 5pm.  I can't believe she has been away a whole 8 months already and I can't wait to give her a hug and hear all about her travels and work and the young man in her life.