Day +1//day 1 of quarentine

Look at that! We are into the positives! I was planning on making a video for today but I’m just too tired (and lazy) so I will do one tomorrow.

Today was my first day not leaving the apartment. We aren’t sure yet if I have entered into neutropenia yet, as that usually hits between 48 and 72 hours after transplant, but now is the time to start playing safe. Wednesday morning a doctor will be in to do some blood work to start monitoring my progression into and then back out of neutropenia which typically will take 7-10 days.

I’ll take this time to explain a little bit about what neutropenia is exactly and why this stage of the recovery requires such caution and isolation. Being neutropenic means that you have abnormally low neutrophils in your blood. Neutrophils are the white blood cells responsible for fighting off infections. This is a good sign when this happens for patients going through HSCT because it means the chemo did its job and destroyed those white blood cells that were not doing their job.

Yesterday after we all finished our transplants we were given these big buckets of safe meals to eat where they are sterile and you just add boiling water. I’ve been warned by previous patients that these meals are pretty unsatisfying but they’ve given tips on how to spruce them up a bit to make them more appealing. I am still able to eat most foods as long as they are cooked and cleaned in a safe matter. Thank goodness for Gaby! We had some of the strawberry granola breakfast pack this morning and it wasn’t horrible but I don’t know if I’d make it all week eating this food. Gaby cooked up some delicious enchiladas for lunch and it is so awesome having her here to do things like this like cook meals that I don’t have to worry about them making me sick. During this time being in neutropenia, something little like food poisoning can kill me. So we have to be careful about anything that I eat.

During neutropenia it is important to wear masks around other people, constantly wash my hands, and be diligent about disinfecting things like my phone, laptop, door knobs, light switches, etc. Our housekeeper will be in daily to sanitize the apartment to keep things as safe as possible for me while I am so at risk of infection.

I will be getting my blood taken every 48 hours to monitor my red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Tomorrow also starts the Filgrastim shots again to help my white blood cells rise again. I’m also back on my daily anti-everything pills.

So for 7-10 days I am stuck in the apartment trying to keep myself busy and rested. The most common side effect of post transplant neutropenia is fatigue and I was definitely feeling it today. I am already feeling the stress of too much social media so I’m going to try harder tomorrow to avoid it a little more. It’s a good time waster when you have a bunch of time to waste but I have other things I can be doing with my time. Like this puzzle!!!!

Yesterday after transplant we were all given a cupcake/muffin with a candle on it to make a wish on for our stem cell birthday and we were also able to choose from a wide variety of puzzles and books to occupy our time in quarantine. When a patient finishes a puzzle you’re supposed to sign the inside of the box. I’m determined to be the first patient to finish this puppy. Get it?

I’ll update tomorrow with puzzle progress. For now, Gaby and I are re-watching Stranger Things getting ready for season 2, while drinking tea and enjoying the sound of the rain outside.