BMT: Day 20

I have engrafted! In fact, my first day of engraftment was on Friday, 23 Sept (Day 18). There was apparently a manual count done on my full blood count test (usually done by machine) on Friday which was not recorded on the chart until today when my transplant doctor checked. My transplant doctor said the average time taken to engraft (for cord blood transplants) is 28 days so it was a nice surprise, given I was feeling rather miserable the last few days.

I am distressed that my vomitting bouts have returned since yesterday. I am just beginning to want to have some milk (an ounce) but can't seem to hold it down. My blood pressure is on the high side which makes it a cause for concern because it can lead to serious complications post-BMT. The doctors are watching it closely and I may need to start on hypertensive medication now to bring my blood pressure down.

It was good to see Great-grandma, my grandaunts and granduncles today (I'm talking about real relations now!) although I wasn't in the best of moods. I still have my cold and was lacking in energy when they came to see me but they cheered me up a bit.

Poor Daddy has a swollen ankle from doing jumping jacks ... he was trying to distract me from grinding my teeth (I have 16 of them now) and risk biting myself again. I think he looks more amusing hopping on one leg than doing jumping jacks!