Fluid on the Lungs Markedly Diminished

WBC = 3400. Doctor says he can now walk outside with a mask. He hasn't gone yet due to nausea. He's lost a bit of weight, a good thing, and the fluid on the lungs has "markedly diminished."

Grandpa is here, interviewing Judah about the nausea. "What comes up? Bile?" "Yes bile, saliva, a thick phlegm. An unpleasant experience."

"Poor Judah," Grandpas says, "You got no sex, no booze. You can't eat. Should I send you some pornographic magazines?"

Grandpa continues talking about sex and morality and inhibitions. He wishes he had been less inhibited. Now he's talking about Dali, Renoir and Modigliani. Judah's drifting off to sleep.

Zoe Nemitz is smiling from the bulletin board. Nurses on duty are Julie and Pinky.

Hilda came by the house with spaghetti and meatballs.

Now grandpa is talking about airplane food and the service on Jet Blue. He wishes he had some gin.

Does someone know Dean? Please forward this link to him. He's called but I don't have his number.

The Woman Behind the Man

I wanted to give a nod to Mom who does everything for us and takes such good care of Judah. She's there with ironed pillow cases, new pajamas, clean clothes, newspapers, whatever she can get her hands on. Duarte is up to 2 hours away in traffic and mom goes twice a day during the week, before and after work and all day on the week-ends. She's home about 11 pm and leaves the house by 8 in the mornings. Pixie won't stand to be ignored and still demands a walk in the evenings.

Grandpa will be here this week as well as a several other guests from out of town, including Josh Katzan, our cousing Joe Sarachek and our good friend Theresa Freese aka "shiksa" in this blog.

Regards to all. Thanks so much for the comments. We read them all the time and it really brightens up his day.

Sleeping Beauty

Judah's sleeping right now. Was sleeping that is. All of a sudden a group of annoying singers in the hallway started singing America the Beautiful. Judah woke with a start and started yelling, No, No music, g-dammit! In less time that it takes you to read this, he reached for his Ipod (thanks Josh), his headphones and drowned out the jingoistic madrigals. I was afraid it was the house staff. Don't they know that people are trying to sleep here? Andyhoo, the singing crisis is now over and Judah equated the do-gooder singing with second-hand smoke. Oh shit! Here they come again. When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again. This is really too too much. Now it's A Grand Old Flag. Poor Judah. It's like being stuck at a Rush Limbaugh convention.
For those of you who have asked about the address here, you can send Judah cards and letters to Judah White, BMT Unit Room 712, City Of Hope, Guest Services, 1500 E. Duarte Rd., Duarte CA 91010. We promise to hang them on his bulletin board.

Judah New and Improving

Judah has shown amazing resolve in the face of unimaginable pain and discomfort the past few weeks. I hope that he will not remember the worst of it. His progress is heartening. His blood cell count continues to rise as do his platelets. His overall demeanor is returning to a more normal state. He still tires easily, but he carries on lengthy conversations about all kinds of things. He is interested in current events. He still suffers bouts of extreme pain, but his body seems to be mending quickly. He loves to listen to the responses people are leaving on the blog. Please continue to send your thoughts to him.
Hopefully soon he will be home with us.

Out of Isolation, Still Crabby.

Judah smiling after the nurse told us he's on the mend. (OK, it's the last of ten or more photos where I was egging him on to strike a pose for the camera.) He's holding a pitcher of ice-chips, one of his few salvations. Mom says he' still crabby as hell and doesn't like his new room. They moved him out of isolation today, and the blood count is up to 2500-ish. Masks are still required, but not gloves.




View of the isolation room. Staff, doctors and visitors enter through the door on the right, where you wash hands and put on a mask.



View of the City of Hope grounds facing north. Mom says having a beautiful setting to walk around makes all the difference in the world. If you've been to the Getty here in LA, you can understand the relief that comes from wandering in and out of buildings through gardens and waterfalls. As opposed to entering a building and staying inside for the rest of the day, like The Met or say USC hospital.

Nurse Says he's About to Feel Better

Yesterday the nurse on duty told all of us, he is about to feel better. Within a day or so he will be out of isolation and able to gor for walks outside. The esophogus should be on the mend with the new WBC and then he will be able to eat again. As soon as is able to take solid food, they will send him home. Barring any unforseen circumstances.

He was walking around and moving little things here and there and cracking a few jokes.

Friday Evening

Judah says, "I'm still sick and I really don't feel well. I look like I've been beaten up. I want to stop all the vomiting."

The WBC is 1800. Normal is between 5 and 10 thousand.

He lost 4 kilos and is down to 78. Still has a lot of fluid on the lung, which needs to be taken off in order for him to breath better.

His ribs hurt from coughing and laughing.

They are talking about moving him out of isolation over the week-end. Even so, visitors and any persons he comes in contact with will need to wear a mask and gloves. (For now, he still doesn't want visitors, especially when he is nauseous.)

Marsha, your card is on the bulletin board here in the hospital room. He laughed when he read it.

He says "Thank you to everyone for your support. When I feel better I'll write something."

He's recommending Will Farrel's film, "Anchor Man," which he was able to watch on DVD today. Something about reverse feminism.

Report from Mom via the phone

The WBC is up but his spirits are down. He's been having bad dreams. I'll be in later today and send more details.

Mr. Ligget brought over another challah today.

WHITE BLOOD CELL COUNT RISES

Judah's White Blood Cell count (WBC) rises to 1700. While this is good news, it is still the first signs of spring. We are grateful to everyone for their continued prayers and good wishes. Judah still feels lousy and looks crappy, but it's heartening to see his improvement at the cellular level.

IV pole, art and messages on the bulletin board. 

Judah in his freshly made bed. 

White Blood Cell Count is 700

Yesterday WBC count was 300.

In the morning Judah had difficulty breathing, probably brought on by fluid in the lungs. The Lasix helps and by afternoon he seemed to calm down and rest a bit with the oxygen mask.

He was disappointed to have only lost 3 ounces since yesterday.

Today he had a chest x-ray and more platelets. The nurses changed his linens and cleaned the catheter and bandage dressings on his chest.

I've been reading your comments to him and we had a good time guessing who wrote them. Please continue to post messages. These really lift his spirits.

Today it's three weeks he's been in the hospital. Two of those in isolation.

A white blood cell. 

Imagining White Blood Cells

Rachel writes she is going to visualize healthy white blood cells multiplying in Judah's body. I've inserted some visuals to help her and anyone else interested in doing the same.

This is a painting of red and white blood cells, by Irene Johnsen 

IN THIS MICROGRAPH, THERE ARE RED BLOOD CELLS AND WHITE BLOOD CELLS IN A CAPILLARY
THE RED BLOOD CELLS ARE SHAPED LIKE DOUGHNUTS, BUT WITH NO HOLE IN THE MIDDLE. THE WHITE BLOOD CELLS ARE SHAPED LIKE BALLS WITH A ROUGH SURFACE. THE CAPILLARY IS THE "TUNNEL" THAT THEY ARE PASSING THROUGH.
 

Judah has White Blood Cells!

It's a start. More later.

Monday

nnn

Overnight Report

Judah writes:

Slept OK, still + phlegm
Up and down throughout
Slept with O2 oxygen via nasal canal
no blood (no platelets needed this am. Doctor wants to cut back on fluid intake to help with diuresis)

The morning the respitory tech set up a humidifier for the nasal congestion. (4 hrs/pm each night)

Otherwise, all is the same
still + nausea (-)vomiting
still rash on feet

(transcribed from his hand-written notes)

Sunday

Benji bought a ten pack CD of "nature sounds." Birds, whales, rain forest, waves etc. Today the birds were on and I got to tell you...it makes a difference.

Judah looks puffier. His eyes and lips are bloated from water retention. The eyes look punched out. Water build-up is squeezing the capillaries and causing bruising on his face, especially around the eyes.

Mom just tried to turn on the TV to watch Ms. Marple and she called the nurse by mistake.

The word on Judah's progress is he is on track. He's right where they expected him to be. I count nine different IV drips on the pole and two medicinal patches on his body. He hasn't had solid food in over a week. He winces and exhales a lot. Hiccups are brutal and frequent. His movements are stunted and shakey. He's working so hard to stay patient and calm.

Friday

Today was difficult.

Judah's body changes dramatically from day to day. A week ago he was thin and getting thinner. Today's he puffy and it shows in his face, arms, neck and stomach. He's holding water and is up about 16 lbs over the last few days.

Mom is spending the night.

It's still difficult for him to talk and his pain is 7, 8 and 9 on the 1 -10 scale.

Our neighbor, Mr. Ligget brings a chocolate chip challah over every Friday. I came home this afternoon and found a shopping bag from the bakery hanging on the front door.

Grandpa will here soon for a two week visit.

Day 7

Day seven referes to the number of days post transplant. The day of, is day zero. Two weeks prior is day zero minus 14.

Judah is resting with a black ski cap and head phones. His mouth is slightly open and his lips are pale. Today he is talking. In the past few days its been difficult because the esophogial lining is worn out from chemo. The tissues are covered in sores which bleed and cause endless aggrivation in the throat and upper chest.

"It's such a beautiful song." He tells me. It's Bono and Pavorrati singing about Sarajevo. "If you need me," he says, "I'll be out of touch for a while." And he goes back to sleep.

He gained 12 lbs. They think he is retaining fluid and they will treat it with Lasix. He's on a morphine drip, liquid nutrition and various other IV's.