Day +15

My Blood Count Today:
Red Blood Count (RBC) 96(Normal 130-180)
Platelet 14(Normal 150-50)
White Blood Count (WBC) =0.4 (Normal 4 - 11)

I am well with reduced cough and flu, still with sore throat. There is a very significant increase of white blood count - from 0.2 to 0.4. If white blood count can increase steadily everyday until 2.0, then I can be discharged. The increase in white blood count also implies the recovery of other components such as platelet and red blood cell.

In fact, the nurses suggested many times to put me on Total Parenteral Nutritient (TPN) due to my mucositis problem. TPN is a method that transfer the necessary nutritient that a body needs through the vein. In my case, it can be done through one of the catherters that I have. With TPN, the patient can stop eating but still acquire the necessary nutritient. However, I am very reluctant to do this because I can still swallow, of course with some bearable pain.

Some nurses and doctors advised me "Don't try to be a superman!" - they thought that I force myself to swallow even though it is very painful. But I never try to be superman because the pain is tolerable to me especially with Morhpine Syrup and the Panadol Soluble. If I want to be superman, I shall be jumping here and there in the room to learn how to fly instead of trying to swallow food! With God grace, I am able to take soft food like oat meal, poridge, barley etc.. In the morning, I have two packs of "3 in 1 cereal oat drink" in about 400ml of hot water. It is very delicious and soothing to the painful throat.

Yesterday was a sleepy day, when I try to write something late at night, one of my cartherters experience back-flow problem. What is a back-flow? A back-flow happens when blood from the body flow out to the plastic tube that connect the catherter and the drug solution pack. Normally, the drug solution pack is hanged on the stand higher than the patient, therefore the drug always flow towards the body through the plastic tube. However, when the patient stand out and there is not much drug solution left in the drug pack, the blood pressure in the body can becomes higher than that of the tube which would then force the blood to flow into the tube. If this happens, one has to lie down quickly to allow the blood to flow back to the body.

Yesterday morning, I managed to solve one Sudoku puzzle, from Monday Sin Chiew's Newspaper (10 July 2006), in about an hour time. Without the Morphine Syrup, I should performance better :-)