Freedom!

Well, not really. I still have to wear my mask everywhere (except for in my room), but at least I'm not hooked up to R2 any more! Well, as of this post I am, but I won't be soon. Gus is packing up the room as I type this and carting everything back to the family housing - I'm getting schooled by the nurse as to how to take care of myself outside of the hospital. There's all this complicated "flushing" of my catheter, giving myself intravenous antibiotics, taking lots of pills, etc. It's going to be weird to not have a button to push and then not having someone at my beck and call for any medical need. And if (g-d forbid, and it won't happen, everyone knock on some wood) for any reason I need to come back in the middle of the night, there's numbers to call and the ER as a last resort; since we're only across the street, that's a good feeling that I'm close to the hospital.

As far as neutrophils, I'm down to 0 again, which is stupid, but I should be skyrocketing back up to 500 any day now (hopefully within a week so I can go HOME) and at that point I won't have to wear the mask, I can be at home with the kitties, and I only have to come back to Hopkins a few times a week (right now I'll be here most of the day, every day in an outpatient clinic).

Regarding neutrophils, Wendy sent me one - he's so cute! Here's a photo of my neutrophil - and you can get your very own at Giant Microbes - Emily W. just bought me Ebola (weird, but I have a fascination with it, and besides it's cute)!

And here's one of him with his mask on - I mean, it's only fair, everyone else has to wear one!

And I just got off the phone with the pharmacy - you should SEE the stack of prescriptions the doctors gave me to take home - apparently they're "swamped" at the pharmacy and haven't even started on my prescriptions yet, and the nurse said I can't leave until I have those in hand, so we're hangin' out in my room sort of waiting for things to happen.

Okay - it's a few hours later (I never published this post), and we just went over the procedures for flushing my Hickman catheter, how to give myself Heparin, how to give myself IV antibiotics and stuff (so cool), and now I'm DETACHED from R2!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOHOOOOO!!! I feel so FREEEEEEEE!!!!!!

SEE?! I just have these cool little blue thingies there now, and I'm free as a bird and can walk around without dragging that dang pole behind me. I mean, dragging R2 behind me. :) Other news - I had this beautiful faux orchid in my room that I promised to someone, and I think I just gave it to the wrong person because I can't tell who's who because everyone has their masks on in here - I can't tell just from eyes! *hiding* Ooops. I hope one person doesn't tell the other that I gave it to them - I completely mixed things up.

Gus is tracking back and forth a thousand times (or like 10 times) between here and the family housing room getting all of my stuff moved, and so I'm blogging for the last time from room 5A14. THE LAST TIME! I'm so excited to be going - a bit apprehensive, it's a little bit scary - I can't believe I'm finally outta here. Everyone is so shocked because apparently the very earliest they discharge patients is at day 25, and I'm on day 26, so yay for me because I kicked the leukemia's butt hard enough and quickly enough to get out early!

So today is a good day - a very good day. Mom gets in around 7pm and we'll take a trip to Whole Foods to get some dinner - I'm thinking salmon and frozen veggies - it'll be my first excursion into THE REAL WORLD beyond the hospital. At least I'm hoping I get to go - hopefully I won't be too tired from all the excitement today to go out. But being able to cook my own dinner, walk down a hallway alone, make my own breakfast, take a shower without being attached to a huge rolling machine (that was definitely challenging, you try showering with R2) is enough to make me happy for a week. At least at the moment. :)

So that's that - I'm out!

ETA: I may even wear jeans soon. This is HUGE - I haven't worn street clothes (just loungey stuff) in over a MONTH.