I started the morning off with a walk around the unit, socializing with some of the other patients. I didn't have much of an appetite, so I skipped breakfast. Later in the morning, one of Dr. Burt's previous stem cell patients for Scleroderma, who lives here in Chicago, stopped by to share her experience with me. She had had extreme skin tightness and severe contractures of her fingers, joint stiffness and pain, along with shortness of breath. She had her transplant five years ago and reported having tremendous success. All of her symptoms have been reversed fully, except for some slight tendon contractures in her fingers, which she is still working out through occupational therapy. She said she is leading a very active lifestyle and feeling great. I found her visit to be very encouraging and uplifting.
After lunch, I became nauseated, so the nurse gave me some Compazine. Within minutes, I began feeling incredibly anxious and needed to jump up and do a few laps around the hall in an attempt an to "burn off the adrenaline." It was a little bit of a scare as I didn't know what was happening to me. When the nurse realized I was having a reaction to the medication, she quickly gave me some Ativan, which calmed me down and knocked me out for a little while. When I awoke, I ate some soup and chocolate chip ice cream, however, unfortunately my stomach was unwilling to cooperate. I vomited once again and felt an immediate sense of relief.
At 8:30pm I received my last dose of chemotherapy (YES!!!) along with Benadryl, which pretty much knocked me out for the next four hours.
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