Tuesday Night Update

Hi everyone. Uncle Mack again... I just got off of the phone with Sarah so I thought I'd leave an update for you. A play be play of our phone call is below, but if you are pressed for time, here's the readers digest version:

In a nutshell: so far, so good - Gracie is doing well. Looking forward to better continuity across the coming days, and everyone is in need of a little more rest.

1. How is Gracie doing? Gracie is doing much better on the Busulfan than she was doing on Campath. I guess she just tolerates it better. It's the drug that typically makes them not want to eat. Sarah said that her appetite came back and that she eating and nursing like crazy. I guess it may be due to getting off of the Campath. This is also the drug that is supposed to make her lose her hair. Waaaa. :(

Gracie has been needy though, Sarah says. She wants to be held constantly, and Sarah thinks it may have to do with the amount of traffic in the room. Which leads to #2...

2. The BMT unit staff. So far, Sarah says that there are lots of different people coming in and out of the room. Across the next day or so, Sarah and Jimmy get to pick who they want to be their day nurse and their night nurse. I think that's pretty cool. It would certainly boost confidence in their capabilities if you get to pick your nurses. It will also reduce the traffic, and the continuity will allow Gracie to become more familiar with her nurses and ease some of her anxiety.

3. How is Sarah doing? Sarah is tired, a little homesick, and a bit stir-crazy. She essentially sleeps when Gracie sleeps, which sounds like not very often and not for very long. She misses all of you, and she especially enjoyed the church video you all sent. As you certainly know if you've spent much time in a hospital, time passes veeeeerrryyyyyy sllllloooowwwllyyyyy.... Sarah's looking forward to a) getting back to RMH, and then b) getting back to her home in Lake City. There isn't much room in their little hospital cell to get around, and Gracie is pretty demanding these days, so no time to read, chat, blog, etc...

After they get settled and have a dedicated care team, they will probably be better able to schedule time on and off of the unit for fresh air, naps, etc.... When Noni gets here, I'm sure that will help out quite a bit. In the meantime, Sarah said that someone sent her vitamin C that she's taking to keep her immune system strong. So thanks for that too!

4. The room. Uncle Mack tried to pull some strings through his previous employer, where folks have relationships with the hospital administrators, to get them into a bigger room. Unfortunately, it didn't work out. We do have friends in high places, but they happen to be at the wrong hospital... Oh well. I suppose it won't hurt for the staff to know that Gracie is a VIP in some Fairview administrator's eyes.

As it turns out, my contact's contact runs the oncology program at a different hospital that is also part of the Fairview system, but doubtful that person has the influence at UMinn Fairview Hospital. On the bright side, their room has a Nintendo Wii in it (Wiiiii want to play - for those of you who have seen the commercial), and Sarah says they play Wii tennis and golf and other games when they can. She says its lots of fun and allows she and Jimmy to get up and move around a little bit. I guess Uncle Mack will have to buy them a Wii when they go back to Lake City...

Sarah and Jimmy are going to upload some recent pictures soon, and Sarah will leave a mommy update sometime in the next few days when she get a few minutes. I think that's pretty much it for now. They really miss everyone, and thank you again for your warm wishes, thoughts, and prayers.