And now I'm completely bald:) As much as I liked the cheetah look a few days ago, the bad-haircut Barbie look wasn't really working for my complexion, so I took matters into my own hands. Voila! So much less itchy!
In other less hairy news, since being released from the hospital on Thursday, I'm required to come to Ambulatory Treatment Center (ATC) everyday for blood work and a 3-4 hour infusion of magnesium. One of the drugs I'm on, Tacro (the anti-rejection drug, or as I like to think of it, the housewarming drug for my donor cells) eats up all of the magnesium in your body so they need to supplement. Basically I just sit in a mini hospital room (which is kind of cozy) for a few hours and then peace out. In addition to the infusion, I take 4 mag pills a day (along with all of the other body-happy pills) to keep my kidneys and other guts happy. Apparently in a few days a home health nurse will come over to the apartment and give me a little personal pump to do this infusion at home on days when I don't have to come to ATC. Good deal if you ask me!
What's not a good deal? Well, apparently the medical community can't agree on what the post transplant diet should be and it's REALLY frustrating. At first, we were told I wouldn't be allowed to eat fresh fruits or vegetables for the entirety of my 100 days. Then, in the hospital they told me I would be able to have them upon discharge. Yesterday, the nurse flipped out and said I couldn't have any at all. Then the nurse practitioner came in and said only thick skinned fruits and any vegetables except lettuce and tomato. My discharge orders say all fresh fruits and vegetables, no berries or lettuce and no tap water (only bottled). Uh. WTF do I do? No one can seem to give me a straight answer and I'm all paranoid now. My numbers are great at the moment (beautiful as they said yesterday), no elevated risk for infection (other than the fact that I just had a fucking bone marrow transplant so all of my cells are babies), but I'm thinking I'm going to err on the side of caution and go with the thick skinned fruits and well washed/peeled veggies (though all of my sandwiches are now ruined for lack of lettuce and tomato..bummer). Also, I'm really freaked out by mushrooms so I'm going to steer clear of those. Dear friends, dear epicurean friends, have you any suggestions for yummy dishes that fall into these categories that you care to share? Much appreciated:)
There is new head-gear on the way and I'm friggin' pumped to post pictures....fuck yeah! Also, I hope to be able to get justin.tv to work this afternoon, but if it doesn't (the wireless has been goofy at the apartment due to some super duper email blitz on comcast a few days ago), please check back later.
With much love and deep, respectful remembrance.
So I wrote a comment yesterday that blogspot ate. And, speaking of eating...get the EPI app for your iPhone. It has recipes from Bon Appetit, Gourmet and other sources and you can search for recipes with certain ingredients. I made a great Paul Prud'homme Jambalaya I found on EPI; it got raves. Ideas for some good, lettuce-free salads: thinly sliced apples and fennel and walnuts seasoned (with bleu cheese, when you can have it) in a sweet, light vinaigrette; sliced cabbage (can you have it?) mixed with various vegies (shredded carrots, Avocado, etc), sunflower seeds and vinaigrette; hummous with peeled carrots, peppers, and cucumber.
ReplyDeleteHope those ideas inspire! Eat heartily! Chris