Mom has finished the preparatory chemo and doesn’t seem to be experiencing too many side effects as of yet.  She had her total body irradiation today as the last piece of prep for transplant day and now gets a break from being connected to her “buddy” the IV pole for a few days.  She’s been getting her walks in and has been appreciating each day and we know that is all helping in her fight. 

Mom’s care team has been encouraging her to indulge a bit in her meals as soon she is likely to lose appetite and experience some change in taste due to the chemo. She was extra excited as she was finally able to have a salad and a BLT with avocado  as the culinary services have very enhanced cleaning procedures for the produce so it is safe for mom to eat. She has been adhering to a strict neutropenic diet which is for folks with weakened immune systems to protect them from bacteria and other harmful things found in some food and drink. Mom has always been a salad and fresh veggie gal so she has been missing these things something fierce!  She has also gotten to start sampling a number of different protein rich smoothies to see what she likes as these will probably be the easiest thing for her to eat down the line as she continues treatment. So far she has been a fan of all of them! We saw the menu listings for them and they do look yummy. ☺️

One last note: if you read the earlier entries you may have seen that visitors are required to wear gowns if visiting in mom’s room. Just wanted to update that the gowns are no longer necessary but the remaining info still applies.

Mom is so grateful for everyone’s continued support, prayers, laughs, and light! (Brit & I are too)

Much ❤️