-5

Today marks day -5 on the schedule. Which actually means day 3 of the chemotherapy. They mark it as day -8 to day 0. -8 was admission day, -7 to -2 are all chemotherapy days, -1 is a day of rest, 0 is stem cell transplant day and every day after that will be +1, +2, and so on. It's somewhat confusing, but they have charts up in the room for us to follow along, as well as a chart marking his counts daily.

So far so good. Jacob is almost finished with day 3 of chemo, with just 4 left to go. Aside from moments of "feeling dizzy" (nauseous, I presume) he has been doing well. Being in isolation is hard. It means that he can not leave the bone marrow unit, which is very small. There is a small play room across the hall and he can walk the small hallway if he so chooses, two things that he has yet to do. He enjoys the shower here and chooses to take them twice daily...sitting in there until I force him out! We are trying to keep busy with television (boy, with all these channels there really is nothing on!), books from the library, writing letters to his brother and sister, playing his Nintendo DS, and eating. How the boy can eat! I don't know if it is nerves or boredom but he is constantly hungry while here.

Long ago he tired of the room service food here. He hates the cafeteria food here (as do I). On weekdays we can frequent the Rooftop Cafe, which gets it's food and bakery items from local restaurants and serves delicious soups and Jacob's favorite treat, Scotcharoos. He has me pick him up a couple Wendy's Jr. cheeseburger deluxes when I am out. Otherwise, I try to stock the fridge here with healthy choices from the local Hy-Vee and the nearby food co-op. I love that place! While the prices are high, their sale items are priced great. I was able to get Jacob organic strawberries, organic raspberries, and organic milk for a nice price. While we don't often eat that way, I feel it is important as Jacob is being bombarded with "poison" right now, he doesn't need any more pesticides in his body. I stocked up on some good eats for this week for a much cheaper price then hospital food. They also have a deli there so I am able to pick up some side dishes for meals - I had to try the Spinach-feta orzo salad and found it to be a delicious and nutritious lunch! I'm happy to see Jacob eat so much, as I know there may be a week or two when he isn't able to eat much (or anything at all) due to the sores that will be in his mouth and throat. It's just a side effect of this treatment that we won't be able to avoid.

I forgot my camera so will grab that when I go home on leave sometime this week and hubby takes over. Thank you all for the continued prayers! If you would like to partake in a card shower to give Jacob something to look forward to each day, feel free to e-mail me for the hospital address. babys_mama1 "at" yahoo.com