Thu, 9/22 - It's going well

Stefan woke up this morning feeling better than he has in... oh, the past 2 weeks? 4 weeks? Maybe more? I'm sure that's because the powers greater than we have given him a reprieve, a second chance at this game called life. He's leukemia free, and right now he has to build up his immunity by building up his white blood count. In order to rebuild his body cell by healthy cell, he has to feed his body well, maintain his body through exercise, and protect his body from germs at all costs. Easier said than done.

Until his fan club says he's good to go home, he has to stay at NMH. But he's doing a whole bunch better than he was two weeks ago, so Daniella went home today. I brought her home from the El station. There is a lot of work to do around the house before Stefan comes home - most of it cleaning and organization. The house hasn't been lived in for two weeks, so the dust has accumulated. So much to do has accumulated, she's spinning in a circle, wondering where to begin. I helped her tackle the bedroom first. We took down the dusty curtains, and pulled the junk out of there. The piles of Stefan's golf magazines? Gone. Same with the home improvement magazines. When he gets his strength back to do either activity, I can help him research his topic of choice - online, at the library, or with new magazines. I found a few magazines in there older than his oldest grandchild! GONE! Doesn't need them anymore! There's a lot of clutter around, and it's not healthy - for him, for Daniella, for anyone. So Daniella and I tried to declutter the bedroom today. We made quite a bit of progress. She was happy. I was happy. We're going to be happy again tomorrow, when I return for part 2...

Stefan is doing well. He has an appetite, but we need to find out how to make his diet healthier. We'll be talking to a nutritionist (dietician?) at the hospital in the next few days. I say "we" because I mean "we" - Stefan, Daniella, and I. Daniella has too much information filtering through her head right now to retain it all. And Stefan will remember what he wants to hear. So I've decided they need someone in there to hear what the doctors say, and then to follow through on it.

Well, that's it for now... I just wanted to post and say he's doing well. And of course, you always have to take the good with the bad... Stefan succumbed to the most common or noticable of side effects of chemo... he has started to lose his hair. I have to say, Jon is thrilled... no longer will he be the only bald man at family gatherings!