Walls Closing In

I can honestly say that these hospitals walls are starting to close in on me. I'm going stir-crazy sitting here. I've tried to be up and around as much as my body will allow me, but that isn't much. My energy levels are virtually non-existent. I would give anything just to go outside once and breathe some fresh air. But my blood counts are way too low for that.

My Godmother Darlene came to visit me today though. It was very nice to see her. I think her cupcakes kept more weight on my bones in the past than anyone else's food combined.


I also finished an '05 Mustang model. (Here you go Gene! You said you wanted a pony...here you go.)

More later...

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.

Transplant Tomorrow!

Despite the lack of movie choices here in the hospital, spirits are high with the news of my bone marrow transplant happening tomorrow at 10:30am. They tell me its more like a non-event really, in that it only takes about 15 minutes to administer the new stem cells. They'll be keeping a close eye on my blood counts to make sure nothing goes awry, but everything is proceeding on schedule so far.

I had to have two units of blood today in a transfusion because my hemoglobin was hovering around 8.0. But that's done and out of the way, and my appetite is showing signs of returning as well. I had two bowls of potato soup and some Frosted Flakes cereal today. Hopefully tomorrow it will be even better.

I also did some walking on the treadmill. I walked 1/3rd of a mile yesterday, and today. I also completed my Knight Rider model that I'd been working on.
More tomorrow!

Quiet Sunday

The radiation and last dose of chemo has officially wiped my appetite off the map. Since yesterday, I've had a bowl of soup and a few crackers. And I don't foresee me eating anything for the rest of the evening. I don't feel nauseous however, just very full, like I've over-eaten or something. And that anything I might try, would just come right back up.

The nurses have been taking good care of me too. My white blood cell counts have been hanging almost in the normal range, so they actually let me go outside for some fresh air today. So that was nice.

Special thanks to Liz, Mylove, Amee, and Dynetta, who brought me chicken!

Thank goodness I don't have any more chemo or radiation to endure. I'm just hanging around getting my blood checked every so often so they can monitor my counts. My transplant is still scheduled for Tuesday morning. And from there...it's onto recovery, building my counts back up, and going home!

Katie headed home today for a short break so she could attend her awards dinner Monday night. She deserves it so much. I'm so very proud of her. She'll be back up here early Tuesday morning in time for the transplant. In the meantime, it looks like movies and models with my Mom keeping me company!