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I'm out

Out of the hospital, that is. That's one of the ways being in the hospital is like being in the military. Things are either happening very fast or very slow. There doesn't seem to be anything in between.

I had stopped paying attention to my cell counts when I went a couple days without needing a transfusion. Also when I had a longer list of things that annoyed me at University hospital. But every day Dr. Smith, the attending on the bone marrow transplant team, came to see me, he would tell me I looked "too healthy to have leukemia." He was the first to express doubt about my biopsy results that sent me to the University in the first place. So when he came in to tell me the latest results were showing that I was actually in remission, he followed that up with asking if I wanted to go home.

Heck yeah I wanted to go home. Not be woken up at 2am? And again at 4am? Not have to call someone to ask for a gown so I can cover myself before going for a walk? Not be constantly connected to an IV pole? On an uneven floor where it's always rolling away from me? Sure, that sounds fine by me!

My dad was on his way to visit, and didn't get the news I was able to go home till he walked in the door on Tuesday. Good thing he's retired and didn't have anything else on his schedule that day. At least not that he mentioned. In my last few hours at University hospital I had my fifth bone marrow biopsy. I was moderately sedated with Versed this time, and got Fentanyl for pain again. I was awake, and I remember being in pain, but I also remember not caring nearly as much.

And then I was out. I got to go for a walk, without a gown, and walk to a car and get in and ride all the way back home. After stopping at the VA pharmacy for all my antibiotics and antifungals and antivirals. I do have to go to the VA every day for one of my antibiotics because there is no oral form of it, but it's a small price to pay for getting to walk my dog and sleep as long as I want.

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