Friday, June 27, 2008

Backpack Full 'O Fluids

We started out at the Hotel UW and now have moved to Fred Hutchinson High School. You know, Ken's been done at AHS now for about a month and I think the doctors figured he missed it so they decided to attach a backpack to his back that he wears all the time (filled with saline and potassium) to keep him hydrated and in touch with his inner high school child.

He's currently spending A LOT of time at Fred Hutch - some of the days are longer than regular work days for him and Jill is overwhelmed by all the "homework" they get! Every day she is given either a spiral notebook or 3-ring binder full of information about upcoming procedures and the bone marrow transplant.

His blood counts are still very low from the chemotherapy. He has lab work done every day so they can stay on top of the low blood cells and will be receiving 2 transfusions of red cells tomorrow. Daily, he receives a growth factor shot to boost his counts and get his bone marrow working in hopes that they can harvest stem cells sometime in the middle of next week.

No rest for the weary bone marrow transplant patients - he doesn't even get weekends off! As I mentioned before, he gets transfused tomorrow and there's more to do Sunday.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ken and Jill,
We just found out about your blog from Bob and Patty. Glad to see you haven't lost your sense of humor. We want you to know that we are sending both our thoughts and prayers your way. Hang in there Kenny! Steve/Kandy McMillan

Anonymous said...

Ken impacted my baseball career and life with his passion for the game shared with humor, fun and discipline. What a guy! Reading the messages about this ever so challenging journey I see that Ken has surrounded himself with a wife, family and friends that share the same passion. My prayers and smiles are with you all.

Shawn Hoonan/Peta Reynolds - class of 77