"Caregiving"

I've had many requests to please clarify what "caregiving" is.
Simply put, "caregiving" will largely be "companionship" and monitoring me with a little bit of housekeeping thrown in. It is FAR less "Medical" than what it sounds like. And certainly no reason to be intimidated by it. I will manage anything "Medical" myself  ie: connecting my own IV's at home, any injections. However, chemo temporarily effects eyesight so I will need someone to look over my shoulder and read or confirm the small print for me. Counter tops, sponges, dish towels, etc, need to be clean, wiped down w/ a bleach solution and sanitized every day. Laundry will need to be done weekly however I can't go into the dusty basement to do it myself. Food prepping has to observe a code of "no cross-contamination" and is similar to a very strict "pregnancy" diet. Basically I need to have someone with me in case there is an issue or I start developing low-grade fevers. There will be a schedule that we will need to follow for taking meds. We need to record the times, any reactions to them, my temp, glucose levels, etc. In the beginning I will have daily appt's at SCCA and we will need to bring these records with us for each appt. I won't be able to drive for a little while but we'll be able to go out and do things. We just need to avoid crowds and peak hours of exposure. Again it's mostly companionship and housekeeping. Sometimes it may include a run to Costco or a walk to Greenlake or Golden Gardens, or maybe a simple drive out to Snoqualmie Falls for a change of scenery. Other times I may feel totally drained, shaky, and just want to veg-out on the couch.
Presently everything is in fluid motion and greatly depends on how I fare through this second round of Chemo. Only then can we meet with the Transplant Team to get a better idea of potential time frame and treatment. As mentioned in the previous post there may now be 2 options on the table: "DLI" vs. Transplant. There are huge pro's and con's for both. And there are many questions that still need to be addressed. As soon as we know something more definitive we will post it.
Just to the right of this post and directly under my picture you will see a column with the header "Critical Links". The first item listed is the Caregiver Calendar. Please click on the link and take a gander. It's super easy to add your name to this working calendar. Using December as a rough starting point we already have several gracious souls that have committed to most of the hard-to-fill weekday spots, and I profoundly thank them !  Please feel free to add your name if you wish to help out. We will adjust if needed as we move forward and learn more info. Weekend help will be more relaxed - no Dr's appt's.
I am on day 7 of my second round of Chemo. My blood levels are just now beginning to drop. I have 3 weeks of feeling like Chemo-Crap still to come.... however I'm actually feeling kinda okay at the moment. There is talk about releasing me to go home in the next day or so, with the acute awareness that I will likely be re-admitted in a week with high fevers and side effects. Not really sure how I feel about that. Please continue to check-in, call, or swing by to say hi. FYI: Cabin Fever sucks pickles.
Cheers,
K -   xo