Day +11. My counts are really on the rise and I’m no longer neutropenic! Woot! In fact, my doctor says I could leave as early as tomorrow, which is a good but stressful thing. My counts have nearly doubled, again, and I have so much more energy now. I feel pretty good.

My dad is planning on driving out of El Paso tomorrow morning, making a quick stop in Phoenix in the afternoon, the continuing to LA where he’ll stop for the night. On Thursday, he’ll make the drive up the Cali coast to get to SF by the afternoon. Depending on how things shape up with training, discharge instructions, etc. I could be home as early as Thursday night!

It’s really a St. Patty’s Day miracle! Watered down green Pilsner, you’re one step closer to being in my belly.

I had a chance to speak with a nurse who is coordinating all of my in-home care. She dropped by this morning and “trained” me in how to take care of my Hickman (e.g. flushing the lines, administering IV magnesium if necessary, etc). Just another step closer to getting out here and being independent again! Taking care of the Hickman won’t be too much of a hassle. Each day I’ll need to flush each (3) line with saline and heparin just to keep them clean. They (Crescent Healthcare/Walgreens Infusion Services) will be sending me materials to help with the upkeep (all covered by my insurance thankfully). My doctor thinks I won’t need a magnesium IV drip considering how the levels of magnesium have come back to normal, so I’ll be taking my magnesium in tablet form along with the other prophylaxis and pro-graft drugs I’ve been on for the past few days. But in the event that I do need IV magnesium, I’ve been trained on how to administer that to myself. I’ve been told by a number of nurses that I’m both the most popular patient on the floor (I get tons of visitors) and I’m the most favorite patient on the floor (cos I’m low maintenance, very compliant, and have such a good attitude). What can I say? I woke up like this. #flawless 😉

I’m super excited to be headed home for sure by the end of the week and pretty stoked to get to feel the sun on my skin again!