Well, last night I didn't get a lick of sleep due to the heartburn, abdominal cramping, gas, and constipation, along with the many interruptions from staff throughout the night. This morning I am feeling very irritable and my patience is short. I feel like I'm on an emotional rollercoaster as I don't know what is happening with my body and I am over-tired from lack of sleep. The Dr. said that the steroids are making my emotions go haywire.
I tried eating a little for breakfast (apple juice over ice, a couple spoonfuls of orange sherbet, and a spoonful of applesauce), but became nauseated and stopped. I'm going to try to force myself to get up and take a shower before my stem cell transplant that is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. They are going to premedicate me with IV Benadryl and Ativan, so I'm hoping that will help me get a little sleep this afternoon.........
(Later today......)
At around 11:00, my stem cells were wheeled into my room inside a large "Cryofreeze" container filled with liquid nitrogen, where they have been stored since they were harvested on 10 February. The lab technician pulled the frozen cells from the container, which were followed by a cloud of "liquid nitrogen smoke," and began the washing and thawing process. The whole thing was pretty amazing. Present for the reinfusion were myself, my girlfriend, Wendy, Dr. Burt, Dr. Jane, Amy (physician's assistant), the nurse, Esther, the lab technician, and Jeannie, the Chaplain. They all gathered around my bed and the Chaplain said a blessing and a prayer over me and my stem cells, which was very nice. I strongly believe in positive, healing energy and the power of prayer. After the blessing, the nurse hung the bag containing my stem cells, hooked the tubing up to the pump, and connected it to my IV access port. She then primed the tubing and the infusion of my brand new stem cells into my body, also known as the "rebirthing process", began!
At first, I was a little nervous, not quite sure what to expect, however, it all went quite smoothly. The most I felt was a little flushing of my face, but otherwise it was uneventful, thankfully. The whole infusion lasted about 15 minutes, during which time the nurse monitored my vital signs, which remained stable throughout. After the infusion, I finally fell asleep with the help of the Ativan and Benadryl, for about 2 1/2 hours. Woohoo!!!
I felt refreshed after my nap and the relief I finally received from some of the gastrointestinal medications.
For dinner, I had vegetable lasagna and chicken noodle soup, which so far, have stayed down and no nausea. Fingers crossed.
After dinner, Kim, the other transplant recipient who has been going through the phases of this process on the same schedule as I, asked me to come to the Visitor's Lounge to take pictures. When I got there, Wendy (my girlfriend) and two of Kim's friends walked in singing "Happy Birthday", carrying an ice cream cake and balloons, which was a thoughtful surprise. After cutting the cake and taking photos, we had a toast (of sparkling Jasmine tea) to a lifetime of happiness, health, and wellness! It was a nice way to celebrate our new start in life, with friends and loved ones there to share it with us.
After returning to my room, I skyped with my two precious daughters, who always uplift me and give me motivation. Getting to see their smiling faces makes me feel better.
I will be getting ready for bed soon, and Wendy and I are both looking forward to a restful night's sleep, since the chemotherapy and Rabbit-ATG are done now. Although, the doctors say I can still expect to feel crappy over the next few days, until the chemo is completely out of my system, I'm doing my best to remain positive. I don't expect too many changes if all goes well over the next few days, as at this point, we are mostly waiting for the stem cells to multiply and engraft in my body, where they replace destroyed tissue and resume my normal blood cell production.
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