discharge

     It's official.  My dad has been discharged.  Maybe discharged isn't exactly the right word.  Discharged usually implies the patient is now free.  That's not really the case here.  It's more like a leash which was originally very short.  So short, in fact, that the care required by the patient necessitated 24/7 care and that was safest and the most proficient to do in the hospital. 
     Now the leash has been let out a bit.  It's still there.  It's just long enough to extend out of the hospital, but not so long as to allow my dad to go back home.  They have to live within 15-20 minutes distance of the hospital in case of a fever or some such crisis.  He will have to come back daily to MDACC for 2 straight weeks.  His blood will be checked and various treatments will be administered.  But no more being hooked up to an infusion pump 24/7.  He can go into a bedroom, albeit a new and strange one at an apartment, and go to sleep uninterrupted.
     This is a huge milestone to reach and with each point, the imminent risk decreases a bit.  The first 10 days was the most crucial and dangerous.  By day 10, engraftment usually begins and the counts start to come back up.  He made that one quite nicely, despite all the side ventures.  The next major hurdle is being well enough to be discharged.  He's crossing that threshold now.  To make it to 100 days post transplant is the next goal to set his focus upon.  Somewhere around that time, if all goes well, the leash gets a lot longer and the patient is allowed to go back home.  My dad is on day 20 so only approximately 80 more days to go.