October 2: Day Plus Five

In hospital jargon, today is Day + 5, which, as you would have guessed, is the 5 th. day after transplant, and according to her doctors, Sujata’s condition seems to be following a satisfactory path. That is the good news. The bad news is that this path, for the next week or so, will continue to make her increasingly weak and prone to infection. Her white blood count this evening stood at 0.8, a small fraction of a healthy person’s number, making her very vulnerable to infections of all kinds. At the risk of oversimplifying a complex medical process, here’s a layman’s version of what’s going on: the chemo she received last week is reaching her bone marrow just about now and gradually killing off her own stem cells, making room for the transplanted donor cells to set up shop and start producing blood. And when that begins to happen, hopefully in another week to 10 days, the blood counts will start to go up again and Sujata will gradually feel better.

As of today, Sujata is still eating solid food, thanks to the daily anti-nausea medications she gets. She gets tired from talking and tends to take short naps between conversations. When she feels a little rested, she will often get up and read your wonderful, loving messages on this website. They are such a source of strength and joy to her. Thank you all.

Update for visitors

The rules have now tightened and if you visit her, you will need to wear a gown, gloves and a mask. It is going to get increasingly stricter as we get closer to the weekend and into the beginning of next week. If you plan to visit, give me a call first (914 275 5745) and I will tell you what the condition is for the day. In the picture above, the wall behind Sujata’s bed looks like a net. It is actually a huge air filter, which is continuously pumping purified air into the room. A visitor needs to stand at least 3 feet away from the head of the bed, so that he/she does not “pollute” the air before it reaches Sujata’s face and upper body area. See more pictures in the album on the left.

A passion for fish

It is rare that I don’t hear about an interesting adventure during my daily visits with Sujata. The anecdote I have today is a testament to the eternal love affair that Bengalis have with fish. A couple of days ago, one of our close friends, a lady who is known for her culinary skills, in collusion with Sujata, tried to “smuggle” some fish curry into her room, to give Sujata’s palate a well deserved break from hospital food. Little did she realize that the aroma of Indian spices would attract unwanted attention. Sure enough, a bunch of nurses came running. A polite argument ensued, in which Sujata’s friend was able to convince the nurses  that a little fish curry, cooked with cumin, coriander and turmeric could not possibly hurt anyone. Certainly not a Bengali. Thus, much to her delight, and thanks to her daring friend, Sujata was permitted to taste a little bit of heavenly “macher jhol”.