T + 8....So far, so good

Friends, I am now 8 days post transplant and feeling so much better than I thought I would.  Docs have unhooked me from 24 hour IV fluids and now I'm getting fluids for just 3 hours a day....the balance is up to me, so I'm drinking an average of 4 or 5 bottles of water a day.   Anti rejection meds are given twice a day, at 5 am and 5 pm, and blood work is collected at 3am....so is it any wonder that my new wake up time is closer to 8:30am than my normal 6:30am??   I can't wait to get home just to normalize my sleep.

I don't spend any time during the day in my bed.   Dr. Tse says that's a no-no.   I need to be up and in a chair or just walking around the unit....as long as I have a mask on so as not to catch any potential illness.   My appetite is good as a matter of fact....not like last time when it took me weeks to recover it and I dropped 20 pounds.   So I am thankful that nutrition wise, I'm getting the calories and proteins I need to regain strength and stamina.

The actual grafting of Bruce's cells should begin any day now....my prayer is that they find their way to the bone marrow, that the anti rejection drugs do their job, and that these immature little stem cells begin producing the white and red cells as well as platelets that will be the building blocks of my new immune system.

I'm so incredibly lucky and blessed that the donor was my brother.   This will help minimize potential complications and aid in the overall long term development of my immune system.   What a selfless act of love, generosity, and human kindness.

Transplant #2 is here!!

For about the last month and a half I have felt as close to 100% as I possibly could. In fact I found myself working at the office on almost a regular schedule of 40-50 hours a week.  That's one reason I haven't blogged here too much....there was not a whole lot to report on.

So who would have thought that barely two months have passed and I am now staring at a second stem cell transplant.   The first one was an AUTOLOGOUS transplant, aka, an "auto", where my own stem cells are harvested and used.   But this second transplant will be using a donors stem cells in hopes of a life saving cure from the plasma cell leukemia.  This transplant is an ALLOGENEIC transplant, aka, an "allo".

But we found a donor and turns out it's my brother!!  There's a prayer that was answered!   Today, Bruce spent six hours harvesting stem cell's from his bloodstream that will be transfused into my bone marrow on Tuesday afternoon.

I have a total body radiation on Tuesday just after lunch and then sometime late afternoon, they will actually do the transplant, which as I mentioned, is simply a transfusion of his cells into my bone marrow.

Thanks for all the ongoing support and prayers....a lot going on Tuesday as well as the coming months.    I'll be back to report on how things went.    Fingers crossed!!

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.

TGIF...that means Chemo Drip Round 3 is Complete

I am just about an hour away from the last few drips of this chemo cocktail entering my bloodstream. It's been a relatively subdued week, with minimal side effects short of some swelling in my legs and ankles, which was caused by a little water retention. Nothing that a 20 mg shot of Lasix couldn't handle. Lasix forces you to remain in close proximity to your bathroom, unless you prefer a catheter . . . which I sure as heck don't want. Ha! Thanks Dr. Kute!

This now completes another full 5-day hospital stay, my third since May 4th. In that time, I have been surrounded by and treated by the absolute best health care professionals I could ever hope for. The doctors, nurses, aides and staff are so incredibly helpful, informative, nurturing, and empathetic. Plus, they all seem to share the same positive and upbeat attitude that I have . . . maybe that's why we all get along so well. This week, my nurses Megan and Angela, and Rachel have coordinated day shift, while Mark and Kim anchored the night shift. Absolutely consummate professionals, each one of them! And the aides who take my vitals like Meghan and Paige demonstrate the energy and commitment they have as they pursue their nursing degree and gain great practical hands on experience.

I have been so incredibly lucky and blessed thus far with minimal side effects from each treatment. Plus, to be surrounded by such caring professionals as the ones I've come across has made my experience so far a tolerable one, considering the disease I'm fighting. These professionals are making a true difference in my life, and for each of them, I am truly thankful.

Thanks to everyone who continue their ongoing prayers and support on my behalf. God is in charge of this operation, and His plan is my plan. My prayer each day is to continue to grow and strengthen in my walk with Him. And selfishly, I ask for lots more time so that I can be an inspiration and testimony to others so that they too can experience His grace and glory.