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Day +5

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We are 5 days post-transplant. Matt continues to be "boring" as the doctors say.  No news is good news at this point.  That means no infections and no complications.  Matt's white blood count continues to drop each day and is at it's all time lowest today, which is 0.3 (It was above 5 last week).  That means he essentially has no defense mechanisms to help him fight infection so he is extremely vulnerable to germs.  But so far we've been able to keep all infections at bay.  They expect it to drop below 0.01 by the time it's all said and done with the hope it will start to go back up around Day +7.
Matt is able to get up and go for several walks a day and meet his daily goal of 6 laps around the unit.  He's growing a little more fatigued each day as his counts drop but he is still able to eat pretty consistently (with the help of anti-nausea meds).  Eating was a major concern because everything we'd read said that eating becomes extremely difficult but is one of the biggest helpers in getting him home quickly.
Matt begins neupogen shots tonight to help his body start to rebuild his immune system.  Those will continue daily until he is well enough to go home.  He will also continue to receive fluids around the clock to help his body stay hydrated since he isn't able to drink as much water as he'd like.
Overall, we're all doing pretty well.  Matt's sister, Caroline and dad, as well as my mom, have been a huge help with the kids and daily tasks around the house.  Emily flies in and will start official support duties later this week.  We are incredibly lucky to have so much help and support from both friends and family through all of this.  So thank you to everyone for everything you've done to help us both physically and emotionally through this process.  We, literally, couldn't do it without you.

All our love,
Matt & Mandy
"Smile Matt!"
At least his sense of humor hasn't changed!

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