Day 15. To Our Home Away From Home.

Yesterday Willie's white blood cell count had risen from 1.3 to 1.6 and the doctors were pleased.  They gave him a quick exam and announced that they would be happy to send him home the next day.  Our social worker arranged for me to move into the apartment yesterday to prepare for Willie's discharge from the hospital.   I moved everything from the cottage over to the apartment which took close to 4 hours.  When I returned to the hospital I found Willie sitting up in bed while the nurse hurried around the room, packing up things.  He looked less than excited.
"We are going to have to move you guys again." The nurse explained Willie's face.
"Ok...." I waited for more details.
"He is doing so well that we need to give his room to someone who needs it more."
"What room number are we moving to?"I asked.
"We are actually moving you out of this unit." She cringed as she said it, as if she was expecting us to yell at her.  "We are going to move you to unit B."
"It's just for tonight though." I clarified.
"Yes, just for tonight." She agreed.
I looked at Willie for a reaction. 
He just nodded.
"Ok, then.  Let's go." I said as I started moving our bags to his bed.
Two men showed up to push Willie and his bed down to the B unit.  There are no secret passages in the hospital so they had to push him through the main hall, past the cafeteria where we were accosted by a million sets of questioning eyes.  I can't judge them. I admit I have looked on with curiosity when a hospital bed has passed through the middle of my meal.
We knew we didn't like the B unit the moment we arrived.  Everything seemed to be in chaos.  There were nurses rushing from room to room and the general air on the floor was one of frustration.  We got settled in room 112 and Willie's nurse came in to introduce herself.  She didn't bother closing the door and was not wearing a mask.  There are two of the cardinal sins in the transplant unit so Willie politely asked her to do both.  She complied, but we were worried about her competence. 
It was close to 6 PM and he was supposed to have labs drawn.  The nurse came in and informed us that she was aware that he needed a lab draw, but she had lost her name tag somewhere.
"I'll draw your labs after I go look for my name tag." She said as she left.
"That's nice," Willie said sarcastically "We'll just wait here while she finds her name tag."
The nurse never came back. 
About 7 PM, Tammy, the nurse practitioner who has been with us from the beginning came into the room.
"I found you!" She said with a smile.
"Well you're a welcome face." I smiled back.
"How are they treating you here?" She asked Willie.
"I'm not very impressed with this floor.  They are definitely the B team."
Tammy laughed.
"It cant' be that bad."
"Well it's bad enough that the nurse is busier looking for her name tag than drawing my labs."
She looked surprise then laughed again.
"The good news is, you are doing great and you'll only be here overnight."
"If they don't kill him first." I interjected.
We shared a laugh, knowing that he was not actually in any danger, it was just a different definition of professional on this unit.
The night shift nurse finally drew Willie's labs around 9 PM. 
I left Willie about 11 PM and hoped he would get some sleep in that crazy unit.
That did not happen.
He said the nurse came in at 11:30 PM and decided that was a good time to unclog his picc line.  That could have been done much earlier in the day,but they must have thought it would be more fun to wake him up and do it.  He didn't fall asleep until after midnight then the nurse woke him up at 5:30 AM!  She wanted to change his picc line dressing right then so a nurse that was training could watch.  Yet again, this is something that could be done any time in the day, but she chose the most unfortunate time possible. 
He was annoyed with how she changed the dressing and had to correct her several times on the procedure he has seen done every week since he was diagnosed.  By the time I showed up at 8:30 he was exhausted and ready to go. 
Tammy came in to check on us around 9 AM.
"You survived the night!" She said brightly.
"Barely." Willie groaned.
"Well we are going to kick you out today.  You just need to get your medication and meet with the pharmacist then you can go."
We were so happy.
I went over to the pharmacy to pick up the meds and, as always, there was a problem with the insurance approving the most important med.  The pharmacist said Medi-Cal wouldn't approve the anti-rejection medication until Friday, yet we couldn't leave the hospital without it.  It seems we go through this limbo every time we leave a hospital.!
I made some phone calls and tracked down the doctors.  They finally sent me to a nurse who worked her magic and got us a temporary supply of the medication.  The drug is called "Prograf" and it is to keep Willie's body from rejecting the new cells.  He will be taking this daily for the next 100 days then if all goes well, he should be able to wean off of them.
With meds in hand, we were allowed to leave.  I don't think anything in the world could have kept Willie there another minute!  We got settled into the apartment and Willie took a nap.  He says it feels really good to not be attached to an IV pole anymore.

Tomorrow we have an appointment at the cancer center.  We will be going about 4 days a week for the first couple of weeks.  As he continues to improve we will go less frequently.  I am so proud of him and the amazing strength he has shown so far. 
The doctors and nurses from the transplant unit made a point to tell him how fantastically he had done.  They never see anyone who receives his type of transplant leave in just 15 days.
NEVER!
But that's just how Willie rolls.  If there is a record to beat, you better believe he'll do it!