I am sitting by Kristina's bed again today, and she's dozing off a bit. I found her today surrounded by paperwork and bills, and with very little voice. She still has some pain in her throat, and her skin is largely covered with red bumps and a few large bruises. She has very little hair and has lost about 20+ pounds -- all this just to paint a picture. The sun is streaming through her window, which has a view of Montlake Cut. She's drinking some tea and occasionally having to spit into a bedpan.
There's no real medical news today. Blood numbers are about the same. Later today she will get her last dose of methotrexate, which is a chemo treatment that's a precentative against Graft Versus Host Disease. It's a pretty nasty drug and won't make her feel any better in the short term. What we're really waiting for right now is news on engraftment; we're on Day 11 since the transfusion now, so approaching the middle of the first 30 days.
Having done it twice now, I can tell you that visiting Kristina is quite easy, and of course she appreciates it very much. It's not scary, difficult or unpleasant. For a while today I just sat and read the paper while she wrote some checks. I know if I was in the hospital, I would want nothing more than friends to be around -- not bringing anything in particular, or doing anything, just being here. It's something to think about.
No comments:
Post a Comment