Recovering, with Steven Seagal

I know I'm recovering because my cell counts are going up. But I can tell I'm recovering because I'm getting restless. Being in the hospital got really old all of a sudden. And being at the University hospital got old even faster than being at the VA. Everyone here seems to think the VA is more regimented, or more military-esque? But when I was there I could take long walks outside around the park, or go over to Rose to get a chai. I had so much stuff in my room, I would spend close to an hour every morning just rearranging it all. I was running out of room on the walls to hang cards and decorations.

At the new place, it took a while before they were willing to disconnect me from my IV pole. I have to put on a gown before I leave my room for a walk (which makes sense, what with the c. diff). I can't bring all that stuff into my new room because it's probably contaminated now (with c. diff spores). There's a very small area where I can walk outside. Overall, this hospital has been much more anal about a lot of things. Which is good for treating chemo patients. I actually have my room and bathroom cleaned now, without having to ask.

I think part of why they're more anal is that I'm in a bone marrow transplant unit. There are people down the hall getting transplants right now. There are a couple sets of double doors down there that, I believe, keep transplant patients in a bubble. You might wonder why I keep talking about going to Seattle when they do stem cell transplants right here where I live. That all has to do with the VA. The VA has three transplant centers in the country, one of which is in Seattle. The VA would rather fly me out to Seattle to have a transplant done in-house than pay to have it done by some other provider.

So what happens next?

Theoretically, I'm well enough to go home right now. I'm no longer neutropenic, and I don't need transfusions all the time. The only thing stopping me from going home is knowing what the plan is. If I were in remission, I'd be going home now and waiting for a trip to Seattle. But now I'm waiting to see what this last bone marrow biopsy shows, and I'm waiting to see if I qualify for a study. Until that happens, I'll be entertaining myself here with the many forms of electronic entertainment I have. I also have cable. Yesterday I had AMC on all day. I watched two Steven Seagal movies (Hard to Kill and Out for Justice), a runaway train movie with Denzel Washington, and a hacker apocalypse movie with Bruce Willis. I consider that a day well spent.