Just had visitation and the great news is: I get to go home tomorrow. When I wrote to you a week ago, on Wednesday morning, I was still in the valley. That got a little deeper, but then it went – not without obstacles – steeply up.
Dear family and friends,
just had visitation and the great news is: I get to go home tomorrow. When I wrote to you a week ago, on Wednesday morning, I was still in the valley. And I was even worse for the next two days. Those were hours stretched out, where you just hang around, feeling bad and completely wimpy. “Always keep your eyes up,” an old friend who called from the U.S. sometime during this period told me. I’m glad another friend had asked me earlier if I had sung songs in my hospital room yet. I would not have thought of that idea. But that’s how I got myself up one or two times to sing a few songs in a shaky voice. And that really directs the soul upward!
Thursday I got some fever and miserable stomach cramps. This meant that there must be some inflammation in the intestines. Antibiotic therapy was started against it, and I was given painkillers. Still, it took a day or two for the cramps to really stop.
Last Saturday, I felt a little bit better. And in fact the blood values showed a first tentative tendency upwards that day.
And then it went steeply upwards, both how I felt and the blood values. By Monday, I felt halfway normal, and one of the most important blood values, which indicates the activity of my stem cells, was already close to normal. The doctor said that this rapid increase at this early stage was unusual, and that with these values he could discharge me as early as the next day, Tuesday, if it weren’t for the inflammation value, which was still too high, and the antibiotic therapy that was still ongoing. Nevertheless, my joy and gratitude were great. This steep climb is an answer to your many prayers!
On Tuesday, unfortunately, there was a minor setback. My blood counts had continued to improve and the inflammation levels were down, though not yet where the doctor would like to see them. The digestive system put a damper on things: if you feel bad in your stomach and have to go to the toilet with diarrhea every 30 minutes, then you don’t feel good in general. I still completely lacked appetite and could only have a little tea with rusks. This prompted the doctor to do further tests, and a discharge moved a little further away again. This depressed me, of course, and I also felt a bit limp and tired again than the day before.
But today I feel well again. And the values are even better including the inflammation values, and the examinations revealed no further problems. My digestive system has calmed down. That is why I am allowed to go home. I am happy and grateful.
You are welcome to continue praying that my body will slowly stabilize again, that my appetite and digestion will be back in order, and that I will continue to be protected from infections. Thank you very much for all the messages and encouragement!
Warm regards
Andreas