Chemo down, Stem Cells re-introduced… Time to rebuild… Apparently, the next stage is the valley, the unpleasant one.
But what a great transplant day. Thursday morning Oct 5th, everything right on schedule, prep was very minimal to my surprise. I have been seeing other transplants around the halls; at this time, there are many more Allo’s than Auto’s (Allo is when matched donor cells are used, Auto is when you get your own back). The Allo’s have more restrictions and protections from infections, so there’s more suiting up than in my case. About 15 min beforehand, they rolled in a refrigeration cart with my stem cells bathing in liquid nitrogen (something I happen to know a little about…). As soon as the infusions doctors came in, they checked all the hookups and IVs, gave me the rundown of what to expect, and moved the stem cells into their hot-tub to warm up. Once they were warmed up to about a chill, they started pumping in my two bags worth. One thing we didn’t realize so long ago when we collected them, the fewer bags collected, the better. Not just because of the process of extraction, but because more bags means more preservatives with the stem cells, which have an effect when re-introduced. Blessed by that, it went very quickly, and I smelled/tasted the “corn chowder” that most people talk about. I was told by the nurse that came in that evening it was pretty obvious, though I couldn’t smell it at all anymore after the infusion was done. I did feel a little prickly tongue and back of my throat towards the end of it, but that went away as soon as it was done. Other than that, there was not much to it, very smooth and laid back, though incredibly important part of the process!!!
Yesterday, I would have liked to get an update out, but had some bouts with nausea that kept me pacing and uneasy throughout the day. It was difficult to concentrate on anything, and made eating my meals and getting my fluids in harder. The doctors arranged a med schedule to help, and it sure has. I feel much better now, not fighting nausea right now, and the bouts with hiccups seem to be gone too. I can feel my energy level going down, I get tired faster and feel like sleeping more, but I am still able to get up and active walking the halls, climbing stairs and sometimes going for a walk outside. Not neutropenic yet today (Day+2, which is counted from Day0 infusion day), and my blood levels are still in a normal range, but declining. Doctor says they should continue to decline here through days 3 to 5, and I should hit a rough patch after that, until my system recovers and my numbers begin climbing back up.
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