1. I sprang out of bed early this morning, spent time in the living room with Copper, and then leapt in the Camry and rocketed to Spokane for labs at around 7:30 and a checkup with two members of the transplant team later in the morning.
After having blood drawn, the results came in shortly before my meeting with Dr. Murad. I thought my numbers looked good. Magnesium and potassium are in range. My creatinine levels are stable and in good shape. I wondered if Dr. Murad would agree.
He did.
He was happy with my blood work, very satisfied when I told him what my blood pressure numbers at home have been, and explained to me that he expects my creatinine levels to improve even more as my dosage of tacrolimus comes down and he suspects that what I called my decrease in stamina when I walk around is partly a result of all the medications I'm taking. Before too terribly long, I'll be going off some of these medicines.
2. Then I talked to Nurse Angela for a little while. I can have my next two blood draws on July 1 and 8 done in Kellogg and I will return to the transplant clinic on Wednesday, July 10th for my next check up.
I asked her about Copper. I wondered if Copper could be in the room I sleep in with me. I had remembered the first nurse coordinator I talked to as I was being discharged from the hospital being adamant that I should not spend a lot of time with Copper in any room and, if I pet him, to immediately wash my hands. (I'll always do the hand washing.)
Nurse Angela was much more relaxed about me spending time with Copper.
She explained that I am forbidden from tending to Copper's litter box and that I can't let Copper scratch or bite me. He's never done either. So, if Copper is with me in the bedroom, I need to make sure he's not bringing litter in on his paws and I must avoid his feces.
As of late, Copper has been voiding his bowels in the litter box. For months before now, he wasn't doing that. He was regularly crapping outside the box.
Copper only did this once when we were in the same room together. He was alone when he crapped outside the box in the room I sleep in.
Copper and I can spend time together in the bedroom if he doesn't make a mess in there -- if he does, I'm forbidden to be the one to clean it up. But the litter box CANNOT be in the bedroom, so I will also need to make sure he has access to his box in the Vizio room if he and I are together in the bedroom.
This is challenging when Gibbs is in the house.
Please, if you read this and feel moved to give me advice, I'm not ready for it.
I have enough thoughts going through my head about how I can spend more time with Copper and any advice would only overwhelm me, not really be of help. Thank you.
3. Debbie called me this evening from Juneau.
The good news is that she tested negative on her first Covid test.
But, that she was exposed to the virus by two people she was staying with who tested positive has complicated her trip and presents her and me with some questions.
Debbie's niece in Fairbanks, as I do, takes immuno-suppressive medicine. Misty and Debbie agreed that it would be best for Debbie to cancel this trip and find another time to travel to Fairbanks and meet Misty face to face.
The questions for Debbie and me have to do with whether we can be, first, in the same car, if we take precautions with masks and ventilation. Can I pick her up Tuesday afternoon at the Spokane airport?
The other question is can or should Debbie stay at Carol and Paul's until over the weekend or can we take precautions with masks and distancing and be in our home together?
I sent the transplant team's nurse coordinators a message seeking their advice.
I'll write more about this tomorrow.
But, if the nurses recommend that I don't go to the airport, Christy can do it.
And, fortunately, Debbie can stay with Carol and Paul if the nurses recommend that she and I not be under the same roof for a while.
You might remember that Christy and Carol were exposed, at a Tri Delt reunion, to a fellow sorority sister who tested positive for Covid when she returned home and Nurse Jenn recommended that I keep my distance from my sisters for ten days, the first being the day they were exposed.
Both Christy and Carol (and Paul, by the way) tested negative, but Nurse Jenn recommended that I exercise an abundance of caution for those ten days.
So, we'll see.
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