Gotcha dinner!

10:30 last night till 6:30, up once, is how long I slept.  Wow.  No foot or hand pain waking me up.  I am sure the 10 steroids helped.  Once up - steroid high.  Ran vacuum through whole house, did some laundry, swept front porch of Matthew debris, cleaned kitchen all before 10 in my nightgown.  Then showered and did a bit of shopping with Kristi.  Nap for several hours.  Bill had to wake me up to get ready for dinner.  Today was 11 years ago Kristi and Matt got custody of Sasha.  Went to Hotto Potto for dinner to celebrate.  And also, Denny wanted to try there.  He loved it so you know it must be good.  Owner knows Kristi and girls quite well because they love it too and go quite often.  She even had special desserts served to us to celebrate Sasha's gottcha day.

Have some questions about my dates for the next couple of weeks getting ready for my transplant.  Here we go!  A lot here but remember, this is my memory board for years to come. I will be doing an autologous transplant as I am my own donor.

October 16 - Some prep at home
October 17 - Head to Moffitt Cancers Center
                     First appointment at 9 AM - 20 tubes of blood will be drawn.  OM
                          Measures blood counts, kidney & liver function, past exposure to diseases
                     10 AM - Pulmonary Function test - measures lung function
                     10:45 - EKG - measures heart function
                     11:15 - Chest x-ray - checks for abnormalities or infections in lungs
                      1:00 - ECHO cardiogram - test pattern of heartbeats
  Day complete

October 18 - 8:00 AM - Appointment with Dr. Booth-Jones - Phychologist
                     11:00 AM - Meet with Teresa - social worker
                      1:00 - Meet with Kelley - Transplant Nurse Specialist
                       2:00 - Meet with PA - physical examination- assist doctor with medical care before,  
                                 during and after transplant
                       3:00 - PET scan (taking lots of  anxiety pills for this one)
Day complete

October 19 -  8:45 AM - Arrive at pre-op area
                       9:45 AM. - Bone marrow biopsy
Day complete. Hope to head home!

October 25 - 10:00 AM - Transplant class (1 1/2 hours)
                      1:00 PM - Meet with Teresa - Advance Care Planning
                      1:40 PM - Appointment with Dr. Ochoa - Primary Transplant Doctor
                                        Will discuss all test results.  Finalize the plan for transplant
                                        Sign forms to continue.
Day complete.  Head home!

Central line/Apheresis Catheter placement  - thin, flexible tube placed in a large vein in my chest. Used to collect stem cells, blood samples, fluids, chemotherapy, medicines.  Double-lumen catheter is used for autologous transplant patients.  Not sure of date for this yet.

November 4 - 7 - Stem cell mobilization- to stimulate bone marrow to produce more stem cells for collection.  Will be given several dozens of Filgrastim (aka - Nuepogen).  Shot for four days.  Can be more if not enough stem cells collected.

Stem cell collection - usually occurs around 4 days after the start of mobilization   Blood tests will be preformed to determine if cell count is high enough for collection.   If high enough, will be cleared for apheresis (stem cell collection).  Catheter is attached to apheresis machine. Machine uses filters to remove stem cells from blood using the catheter.  Takes about 8 to 10 hours while lying in bed.  If number of cells collected is too low, need to repeat another day.  Sten cells are frozen upon collection till ready to infuse back to me.

Not sure of some of these dates yet.  Will know more once we meet with Dr. Ochao regarding the test results.  But here are the next steps.

Conditioning therapy - received prior to transplant.  I will receive high dosage of chemotherapy

Stem cell transplant - Day Zero. - will receive stem cells 24-48 hours after conditioning therapy.  Cells are thawed and infused through my central line catheter similar to a blood transfusion.  Length of time depends on how many bags my cells are stored in and volume collected.  Nurse monitors closely. May slow down to treat any possible reactions should they occur.

Engraftment- production of new blood cells from transplant.  Usually takes place two to four weeks after transplant.  Beginning of my recovery of my immune system.  Complete recovery can take months in an autologous transplant.  I will be most at risk for complications waiting for engraftment. Will be watched by transplant team during this critical period to prevent and treat any life threatening complications such as infection.

As of now, we have been told I will be in the hospital about 30 days.  I may be considered for early discharge but have to be within 1 hour of Moffitt Cancer Center.  We are hoping to get into Hope House near Moffitt.

Bill will be my primary caregiver throughout this process.   Needed 24 hours a day throughout the transplant. He will be my communicator, transporter, medicine giver, supporter, coach and most of all, the love of my life. The main reason I am chasing my life and not giving up.

A lot of information here I know. Don't know if you made it to the bottom of this or not. But again, this is for me to remember what I have gone through to get to my happy life again.  And maybe someday, someone with Multiple Myeloma may read this blog and it may help them along the way.

Quote:

I am not going to waste a second chance!