Things That Suck

***I am apologizing in advance for any errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. It has been a rough week and I can't be bothered***
I'll start with the good news: Cristian's counts are improving, which means that the transplant was successful and his body is starting to recover. As of today, he is no longer  neutropenic (when his body is most susceptible to infection).  (Neutrophils are a type of blood cell whose function is to fight infection).

The not so great news is that over the weekend he developed what they think was an infection in his central (medicine) line. He had a fever and his pressure dropped so they had to remove his medication line and insert two peripheral (temporary) IV lines in his arm. They also moved him out of the inpatient unit into the Pediatric Observation Unit where they can monitor him 24 hours a day. Tomorrow they are most likely going to install a new Central line. This will be his 10th surgical procedure in less than 2 years. This evening, he had to have an emergency CT scan to rule out sinus, chest and lung infections. While he was in the machine, the tech was amazed that he was so comfortable in the CT scanner. He couldn't believe that Cris didn't move once, until I told him that this was his 30th scan (give or take). If the scans rule out sinus, chest and lung infections, then the fever, blood pressure, and rash, are most likely due to the engrafting of the cells and they will put him on steroids. A quick note about steroids; they make him super hyper (more hyper than normal) and MOODY. Last year when he was on steroids I had to curse a chick out for making a comment about his behavior. It was bad. Anyway, if the symptoms are due to cell engraftment, the steroids should resolve the symptoms immediately.

In other news;
The hospital has a washer/dryer in the inpatient unit. Last week I watched as two grown women got into a fight over the washing machine. They started screaming and cursing and the next thing I knew one of the women got pushed by the other woman's husband. You would think that both of these ladies would have more important things to worry about...

Adina