The next day....

Well the first day was pretty uneventful.  We checked in and got situated.  Last night, I needed to come to grips with this whole process.  I can't kid myself anymore, this is really hard.  I want to be hopeful but I'm so scared at the same time.  I could very well be in denial.  I mean Jim has been doing really well now that he's been in remission.  As great as can be - considering.  He has been pretty strong throughout this.  But I know the worse is coming.  By tomorrow Jim will start to feel bad - nausea etc.  Even though they have been giving him anti - nausea medication, more than likely he will still feel icky.  They've told us a lot of things to look for.  One thing that is really common is Mucusitis, which is sores in the mouth and digestive track.  This is one thing that causes people to have to go back into the hospital because one is unable to swallow pills and therefore medication needs to be administered via an IV.  That may be what we have to look forward to.  It's hard to say how long he will have to stay in the hospital.  It just depends on how well he's doing.  I admit I'm afraid of taking care of him.  On day five of all this serious chemotherapy - he will become nutropenic and real susceptible to catching anything.  They are real serious about screening people for cold or flu symptoms because if one of these patients was exposed to any one of those illnesses it could become a real serious problem.  The whole apartment has to be wiped down with bleach and other sanitizing agents.  It is my responsibility to keep it sterile.  He may also need IV's for hydration.  So, that is something else I may need to learn to do at home. 
We live in this apartment complex that is filled with patients undergoing stem cell transplants.  Everybody's situation is different so we hear all kinds of stories with all kinds of possibilities of how this could all unfold.  Yesterday marked the third month that we've been here.  We thought we were only going to be here a total of 3 months but after being here a while we know it could last a lot longer.  It just all depends on how he responds to this treatment.   We'd like to think that everything is going to go according to plan and that he will recover in a months time however, there have been people here for 16 months and transplants that have gone south and had to do redo's.  So, it's one thing to be optimistic and trust that everything is going to go all right and then it's another to be realistic and just go with the flow.  We choose to be optimistic!!!!  Jim says "Hi!!!!"