Patience pays off...part 2

So on Wednesday, 12 August, I received those stem cells. And it wasn't 24 hours later when I felt like I just been hit by a truck. Fatigue . . . loss of appetite (who, me?) . . . nausea and the works (you're going to have to use your imagination on that one) . . . developing mucositis     . . .  and a general sense of "I feel like &/!@."

I've never been so sick that I'll that I lose my appetite . . . I joked with the doctors and nurses early on that I might just order carry out from Jeff Ruby's rather than eat hospital food . . . but the joke was on me because just the thought of meat, shrimp, crab legs or even a steak smothered in blue cheese was enough to roll my stomach. Truth be told, I was lucky to keep down 2 ounces of water at a time.  

And frankly even though I'm at home now, I don't have a large appetite whatsoever. Small bowl of cereal and milk this morning more than sustained me for most of the day until I whipped up a little something for dinner tonight. The good news is not so much that I was able to eat, but just that I kept everything down. Descriptive enough?

Friday morning I returned to the hospital for some bloodwork and a consult with Dr. Tse and his staff. And let me just say that those are some of the most outstanding healthcare professionals I've ever run across. Their attention to detail is not like anything I've seen before.  

So the game now shifts from waiting for the stem cells to grow and develop into healthy marrow and cells to feeling more like my 100% self . . . see, I told you I wasn't very good at this patience game . . . I want to be back to 100% yesterday, ha.  

But I appreciate your ongoing prayers and support because without them I have no idea how I would've gotten through the last couple of weeks!!

Patience pays off ....part 1

What a couple weeks this has been! Of course it's not like I didn't know what was about to happen . . . but even with all the warnings about side effects and how I was going to feel, as well as the general anxiety of rebuilding one's immune system, I admit I wasn't totally prepared for what transpired.

That cute little bag of what appears to be jello, is actually one of 3 bags of stem cells that were reintroduced into my body. Using a large syringe, Nurse Catie pumped those little rascals back into me so they could begin the process of growing and developing into red and white cells and platelets.

Waiting . . . and waiting . . . and waiting

I so appreciate the role that our nation's farmers and agriculture specialists play in getting food grown, harvested, and on the table at home. You have to have the patience of Job I'm sure, and guess what, I clearly do not. Ha.  

So, since last Wednesday, when the stem cells were actually transplanted back into my bone marrow, I have been playing this waiting game, patiently looking for signs that the graph is taking hold and that this will put me into a partial remission, which was the goal. But alas, nothing yet, short of my white counts and platelet counts predictably dropping toward their nadir of 0.0.

And of course the nurses and docs have sensed my impatience with this whole process and are having more than a little fun at my expense . . . "Only a couple patients took the entire semester for their counts to increase, I wonder if you could be the third?" Comedians. They belong on Jimmy Fallon, not the 6th floor here at University Hospital.


But the transplant itself went just fine. I even experienced a couple "hot flashes" when they were reinjected back into my blood stream. OK, ladies, never again will I make a joke or laugh about hot flashes that you might experience. Been there, done that. And take a look at that bag of stem cells in the picture . . . looks like raspberry gelatin doesn't it? But oh, the secrets of science are in that very bag. Amazing.




Nurse Catie slowly injects the stem cells back into my blood stream. Slow and methodical is the best way. Five minutes into the process, they take your vitals just to make sure you're not going to faint or experience a bad reaction.

It's Monday of Week 2 in the hospital. I have work to keep my attention and the financial markets are open. I hope you have a good week. Thanks for your ongoing support and prayers. Without them, I am not sure where I would be at this point. I am very grateful that God has blessed me with such a great support group of friends, family, and well wishers.

It's TRANSPLANT Week . . . finally!!

Well, this is the week that the doctors have been pointing to. After multiple rounds of chemotherapy, and after lowering the plasma cell in the bone marrow to less than 5% (from 76% back in April), it's time to take the next big step, which is the stem cell transplant. These used to be called "bone marrow transplants," but at some point in the recent past, doctors simply referred to them as stem cell transplants because that more accurately reflected the process of transfusing the cells back into the patient's body.   The bone marrow simply was the eventual location where these stem cells would take up residence and begin producing red and white cells as well as platelets.

So Monday August 10, I will check in at University Hospital. I'll receive a central line catheter that will not only deliver the stem cells back into my blood stream and eventually to the bone marrow, but also serve as a port for them to withdraw blood for testing and lab work, etc. That will be better than getting poked every day for the next 2-3 weeks.

I will receive a high dose of chemo called "malphalan" on Monday and Tuesday. The actual transplant will take place on Wednesday sometime.  And this transplant is nothing more than a transfusion of my own stem cells that were harvested about a month ago. I must admit that the whole procedure has me on edge, simply because complications such as infections or the like could set in while my white blood counts are non existent. That's the LAST thing I need is to catch a cold or get sick when my immune system is so compromised.

But barring any incidents such as that, things should go smoothly. I have plenty of books to read, I have investment periodicals to pore over and absorb, and I am sure I'll have plenty of emails from work to answer. Despite being in the hospital for 2-3 weeks straight, it should be anything but boring.

Thanks again for your ongoing prayers and support as we continue this battle. There is uncertainty we face each day, especially for me right now, but faith and prayers are the cornerstone helping me through that uncertainty.   

Visitors are always welcome, so if you find yourself downtown, feel free to drop in. I will be on the 6th floor of University Hospital.