Vampire

As it sits now, Kristi won't produce her own red blood cells for at least a month. She will be completely dependent on transfusions during that time. The difference in her vitality since she got the last 4 pints is quite dramatic. The doctor says she is in good enough shape to get some exercise. She's looking forward to spending some time out of bed. Increasing red blood cells is one thing, dealing with white blood cells is another. Since she lacks her own defenses, two different drips of antibiotics are going at once. She has daily blood cultures and hourly vitals checks to detect any opportunistic infections. Thus the need for cleanliness around her.

The treatment plan for AML was developed in the 80's. It's success rate is pretty well understood. It involves several weeks of therapy to induce a remission. Once this has been achieved, several follow up sessions are required to insure the cancer is gone. One option at the follow up stage is a transplant. We will see, it tends to be effective, but the doctor isn't considering it as a first option.

Tonight is going to be fun. Her octopus keeps beeping. One line is reporting air in line, the other is reporting an occlusion. The beep is worse than my alarm clock. It's very loud and progressively gets louder. Kristi thinks that an "OMG" is required to understand it's percistent high pitched "deep deep deep". The night staff just hits the reset button, which makes it quiet for about a minute. Looks like they are using a new port (the third one). The assigned nurse enters to do a "flush" on the line. This involves a shot of saline followed by a dash of Heprin. I have a feeling that this will be a ritual in the comming weeks.