Still here...

Yes... Ryan is STILL in the hospital.

Ryan's ANC (absolute neutrophil count) is too low to come home. Each day it has come up a little bit and the doctors want his ANC to be at LEAST 500. Currently, Ryan's ANC is at 460. (Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell, they are the MAIN ones for fighting infection.)

Ryan continues to improve each day and is feeling really good. He is occasionally nauseas, but mostly tired. His WBC, platelets and hemoglobin (red blood cells) are all on the rise. Ryan's liver and spleen have shrunk a CONSIDERABLE amount and Ryan's transplant doctor is VERY pleased with all his progress.
Now that he is feeling good, he is trying to stay busy and prepare to go home.

Since he was unhooked from his IV he needed to start taking these again:

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Ryan has not been able to leave this unit for 5 weeks, so not having his IV was his one bit of FREEDOM. After his first day and night of being unhooked, he woke up to find himself reattached to his "ball and chain." He was low in potassium and magnesium and needed a little boost via IV:

He couldn't WAIT for the magnesium and potassium to be finished. Once complete and unhooked, he walked OVER a mile with a HUGE smile on his face. (He was always quite envious of other patients who walked around without a pole... he was NOW one of them) Each day he tries to avoid getting more IV meds, so he has been eating a lot of bananas to help with the potassium, but he has needed more magnesium EACH DAY. The highlight of each day is when he is finally unhooked.

Once free, he enjoys being able to get up and help make his bed:

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He has really enjoyed his walks without his IV pole. During his walk yesterday, he got nauseas and needed to take a break for some meds. We went back to his room where he went and laid down. I asked him why he had his shoes on IN BED? He refused to take off his shoes because he wanted to make sure that he got up again after the meds to continue his walk.

He sure is determined to get his mile in each day...GO RYAN GO!

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After walking a mile, Ryan was a little tired, so he took a break and caught up on this:

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I just had to take some pictures of him feeling so well. What a difference a week makes:

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Then today we got some EXCITING news...

Ryan is ready to COME HOME tomorrow!

So he stayed busy helping with this:

It was bittersweet taking everything down, but how weird it was to spend the rest of the day looking at the bare walls.

I tried to be funny as I modeled my new SensiCare "shoes"

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Much of the day is spent talking about this whole experience. Ryan does not remember a lot of what has happened and he enjoys hearing about it. He is so excited and grateful to be where he is at today. Saying he is excited and ready to come home is definately an understatement.

Through it all though, he just keeps on smiling...

***GO TEAM RYAN***

Q: What is a normal WBC? **What is a normal ANC?
A: A normal WBC for a healthy person is anywhere from 4 to 10. **A normal ANC for a healthy person is anywhere from 1,500 to 8,000

Q:What happens now that Ryan is home?

A: Ryan will go to the cancer center on a daily basis. At the cancer center, they will do lab work to check his levels. If needed, he will receive blood and/or platelets and they will change his immunosuppressant dosage if he is too high or low. Once his counts start to stabilize he will then be able to go in every other day, then every few days, then to once a week. It will be a couple more months of frequent office visits.

On day +28 (which is next Weds), Ryan will have another (DREADED) bone marrow biopsy. This will show how much of Mitchell's stem cells are engrafting into the marrow and how much or how little Lymphoma there is still in the marrow.

Q: What should Ryan expect over the next few months?

A: Dr. Yeager said the healing process after transplant will take months until he is feeling strong again. It is normal to still be nauseas, weak and tired. For the next few months, Ryan will NOT be able to be around people who have had live virus shots (like the H1N1) or around people that have ANY type of cold/infection. He should avoid large groups/crowded areas and should wear a mask ANY time he is in public. He shouldn't be around construction sites or outside when it is dusty and/or windy. I could go on and on...

But YAY for tomorrow... Ryan is COMING HOME!