sleeping beauty.

As you know, Josh's transplant day went very smoothly.  My mother ended up staying over night in case we needed her.  Not one of us slept soundly, likely due to the excitement and/or the nurses slamming doors all night long.  I suppose no one is happy to be working on a Friday night. 

Josh's mother and stepfather came to see us early the next morning.  They found Josh and I curled up on his bed trying to get some sleep.  Josh was very tired all day long, so we let him nap while they took me to lunch at Angelo's.  After eating that meal, I am glad we had a bit of hike back to the hospital!

We brought back a protein-packed

omelet for Josh!

We got back and Josh attempted to eat what he could.  But the side effects of chemo and radiation were clearly starting to kick in.  Josh's entire digestion system was not treating him well.  He had an upset stomach all day long and upset bowels all night.  He woke up once per hour until morning... not by choice.  Luckily for Josh, there was an upside to this yucky day.  Our favorite nurse was back to work.  She bought a few fun surprises for Josh too!

Today is Day +2.  We had several visitors - Grandma Mabie, Aunt Linda, my sister Jana, her fiance Jeff.  Joshua managed to stay awake for about an hour to chat with everyone, then he fell right back to sleep. Needless to say, I was happy to have company!  My mother-in-law showed up early afternoon (she is a regular) and Josh was still sleeping.  He slept ALL day!

Aunt Linda & Grandma Mabie

Josh opening up his gift, daily devotions.

Josh and Jeff

The Fab Four!

Occasionally we HAD to wake him up, then it was right back to bed.  Waking him is NOT an easy task!  I found that a nice, cool washcloth ran over his face and neck tends to perk him up.  Then I have to "gently" coax him into completing his daily checklist.. some days I have to be "not so gentle."  Joshua's daily requirements involve bathing, mouth care, exercise, and eating/drinking.  Some of these are very difficult tasks when you feel like crap and just want to sleep.

Josh's blood counts are almost bottomed out. That means his immune system is very susceptible to bacteria of any kind. We will have to be extra pre-cautious over the next couple weeks. Then slowly, the new stems cells will start producing new healthy blood cells and Josh will start to build his immune system back up.

Per the doctor's orders, we have started logging his daily calorie and protein intake.  The longer he can eat well, the better his recovery process will go.  If he is unable to keep up with his daily minimums, they will have to feed him through his IV.

My mother-in-law left around 6pm tonight.  Just prior to that I got Josh up and around.  He walked his mom out to go home, did his mouth care regimen, and took a shower.  Can you guess what he is doing now???  I will let him get a little more rest tonight, then I will try to get some more food into him before midnight.  We have a ways to go on our calorie/protein log...

With God's help, we will find the strength to keep on pushing!