Stem Cell Day!!!!

 

Or Day 0 as they call it in here.

 

I got my cells back this morning!!!  Such an important day for me!!  Many call it a Re-Birthday.  If this works (and I'm confident it will) that's what I will call it too.  July 28th, 2014...my Re-Birthday.  Fingers are crossed that I celebrate two birthdays a year!

 

The process of putting the cells in is not very dramatic at all.  Collecting the cells is way more of a process.  Jeremy took video, and I really want to show it, but it shows me getting sick and I don't want everyone to see that.  So, if we can figure out how to edit some of it out then I will post it later.  Until then, my recollection of events will have to suffice.  They started at 10:04am and were finished exactly 30 minutes later.  I had two bags (They told me that most people have one.  Guess I'm a stem cell overachiever).  They thawed them out in my room.  They pulled them out of a freezer that had smoke coming out of it, so that was pretty cool.  It took about a minute to thaw the bags out, and they crackled as they were thawing.  Then they hook it up to my central line tubing.  They suck the cells into a big syringe, then slowly push the cells in.  When the syringe was empty, they sucked up some more.  It was definitely not how I expected it to happen. 

 

I instantly felt weird right after she pushed the first cells into the line.  I wish I could explain the feeling.  All I know to say is that I felt tingly and just weird.  And I immediately could taste the preservative that they put in the cells before they freeze them.  It was disgusting.  Tasted like a mixture of tomato soup and creamed corn.  They gave me mints to deal with that nasty taste.  I did OK until about halfway through.  Then I knew it was just a matter of minutes before I would get sick.  And I did.  It was pretty bad  They knew it would happen because it always does.  They said it is because of the preservative.  Oh, and the preservative takes a few days to get out of my system.  So that taste I tasted??  Well, I smell like that too.  I can't smell it, but everyone else can.  Jeremy said he is going to start calling me Campbell's (yeah, he has jokes). 

 

After it was all over, I slept for a good while.  As the day has gone one I have felt a lot better.  But, I am afraid it is a false sense of feeling good.  They tell me as my counts continue to drop I will start feeling bad again.  I'm taking advantage of this afternoon though.  I ate.  I haven't eaten since Wednesday.  I have had a shake every morning, and that's it with the exception of the bacon sandwich yesterday.  The metallic taste is back (happened last time I had chemo) and I'm seriously craving chips and salsa.  Hacienda chips and salsa to be exact.  My nurse is going to the grocery store tonight and bringing me back some chips and salsa since she knows I want some.  All the nurses are awesome.  Couldn't ask for better care that is for sure.  Anyway, I ate a pudding cup and some cheese crackers.  Then I had some sunflower seeds.  Then I ordered some French fries with a bunch of ketchup and a salad with a bunch of French dressing (the tomato thing I guess).  I ate all the fries, some of the salad.  I've lost nine pounds since I have been here so I suppose it is time to start trying to put some of that weight back on.

 

My vision is getting pretty blurry, but they say that is a side effect of chemo.  As I type this the words are pretty much not readable.  So I apologize for errors.  I broke out in a pretty crazy itchy rash that went away today.  They think it is the Cipro.  Didn't have it today at all, but they are giving it to me tonight again.  Guess we will see if that's the culprit. 

 

I'm just waiting to be unhooked from my pole so I can take a shower then go to sleep.  I'm still pretty tired but making myself get up and walk.  The tech told me today that the people with positive attitudes and get up and move around the most get out of here sometimes weeks before the others.  And since I want to get out of here, I'm not going to let a little puking and tiredness keep me down.  I really, really, really, really, really, really want to go home!!!!! 

 



Stem Cell Transplant Day 6

 

I have been here six days now, but it feels like six weeks.  I can't say that I like being here at all.  I already miss everything.  I've been doing ok I suppose.  Tired.  Nausea.  No appetite.  On the bright side, today I completed my 14th chemo treatment in six days.  So chemo is now officially over.  The side effects haven't fully kicked in just yet, but I'm hoping this is as bad as it gets.  I haven't eaten much except drinking a shake for breakfast for the last three days.  This afternoon I did manage to get down a bacon sandwich though.  I'm just not hungry, and that is really odd for me.  I love to eat! 

 

Tomorrow I get my stem cells back.  I'm excited and a little nervous about this.  They tell me that tomorrow I will probably be wiped out all day.  Then after that it will be day to day on how I will feel, because everyone reacts different so they can't tell me how I will do. 

 

That's all I have for now.  Hopefully in the next couple of days I will have more energy to update this blog.  In the mean time, we will just sit here and watch my blood counts and hope they do what they are supposed too.  And fast.  I really want to go home! 

Stem Cell Transplant Day 2

Remember last night for dinner I ordered a cheeseburger and fries, right?  And I didn't think they could screw that up?  Well, I wouldn't say they screwed it up as much as they just didn't bring it too me for TWO HOURS.  That's right.  Ordered at 6, received it a little after 8.  Everything was cold.  Couldn't get the bun off the burger because it was literally stuck to the meat.  I ate most of it anyway.  At this point who cares.  Food is food whether it's good or not!  So, this morning for breakfast I made a coffee Vi-Shake.  Delicious.  I have two nurses wanting samples now.  It's that good.  Anyway, about that time the "Classic Cuisine" room service dude walks in to get my breakfast order.  I tell him I already had a shake and that I might just starve to death waiting on him to bring me breakfast, and that even if he did it wouldn't be edible.  He was like, "Huh?"  I said listen, here is what is up with my food lately, and I told him what had happened.  He smiled at me then said, "Well, because I like you I will personally make sure your breakfast is brought to you quickly and that it is warm and edible.  But just for you."  Then he winks and smiles.  I told him he was on the clock and the timer started now.  He smiled and out the door he went.  Twenty minutes later as I'm walking the halls here comes my food guy, carrying my breakfast.  And it was warm and edible as promised! I was happy about that!

 

Last nights chemo was awful.  Just awful.  I have honestly never felt that way ever before.  This particular drug causes immediate side effects such as headache, jaw pain, and other things such as restless leg and I unfortunately suffered from all three pretty quickly.  The headache was what I would call a migraine, temples pounding.  The jaw pain felt like I couldn't open my mouth if I wanted too.  My ankles would not. stop. moving.  At all.  Nothing I could do about it.  They gave me morphine right away.  I had never had morphine before and really didn't want any but that's what the doctor had ordered so that's what I got.  I did learn something though.  I learned that I will never let anyone give me morphine ever again.  It made everything 50 times worse.  I honestly believed my head was going to explode.  I almost passed out and threw up on my way back from the bathroom.  I really thought I was going to hit the floor.  They put my bed alarm on after that.  Just in case.  Finally at 2:30 this morning they gave me Dilaudid and that did the trick.  Thank God!  I told Jeremy I wasn't sure I could do that much longer.  It was the most awful thing ever. 

The pills I have to take everyday before chemo on the left. 
The picture on the right is of the chemo that made me
feel so incredibly awful last night.  Notice it is covered
in a red bag.  That should have been a clue.  The second clue should
be when the nurse puts on a face mask, gloves, and two cover jackets so that
she can still have kids one day.  That's exactly why she told me they do it.  Just
touching this stuff evidently messes you up.  So there's that.

This morning at 10am I started chemo.  Two different drugs today, one of them I receive twice.  My last treatment for the night will begin at 11pm.  Strange time I think but they said they have to be 12 hours apart.  I have felt pretty good today, just a little tired.  I have walked the halls several times today.  It gets boring being in this room all day! 

My meals were much better today.  As you read above breakfast was timely.  Jeremy brought me some bagel bites for lunch.  And, at the advice of my nurse, I pre-ordered my dinner and told them I wanted it at 6.  It arrived at 5:45 and was actually pretty good.  At least that is improving!!

Tomorrow hopefully I will get into a permanent room.  This one isn't so bad, but it doesn't have a shower!!  They tell me they have someone being discharged tomorrow, so after that room is cleaned I can move in to that one.  Something to look forward too.  Otherwise, tomorrow should be a repeat of today.  Three chemo treatments, lots of pills, and hopefully good food.  Three chemo treatments down, eleven to go!
 

My toilet.  Has to be covered with this blue blanket
so that when my nurses flush it they don't get
my toxins.  That's so comforting.