Stem cells infused!

Jonathon is super-sleepy today so he has asked me to make today's post.  Before the stem cell transplant, they gave him 50mg of Benadryl via IV to prevent an adverse reaction, and then 1mg of Ativan via IV  to prevent nausea too... that'd be enough to knock me out for the rest of the week!

The transplant itself was as anti-climactic as the doctors said it would be.  The pouch of stem cells arrived, looking much like a more watery version of a red blood cell transfusion, and they hung it on the IV stand, and pushed it in over about an hour (a little longer than they said it would take).  Jonathon slept through it for the most part, but Peggy did get him to wake up for a few photos.

From Bone Marrow Transplant

You can almost see the bag of cells hanging on the IV, and you can see the red-line going into him.  Dr. Stock is standing closest to Jonathon - she's a world-reknowned specialist in Jonathon's kind of leukemia, especially in adolescents and young adults.  And more importantly, we really think she's a great doctor and a very nice lady.  

They tell us the hard part is coming in the next few days to a week when the effects of last week's radiation, combined with the natural response of the body to the transplant, and the effects of the anti-rejection medications all start to take effect.  They're giving him as much preventative medication as they can to help, which I think is also contributing to his sleepiness.

So we're just letting Jonathon sleep off the drugs, and I've become engrossed in the Twilight books to keep me busy.  Peggy and I were both joking that things were so uneventful today we could have both gone shopping. :)

Thank you everyone who was praying today and who continues to pray for Jonathon's recovery. To be surrounded by so many wonderful, caring people is truly a blessing and I have no doubt that it makes a difference.