What an incredible day! I was so excited to get to this point, yet I pretty much managed to sleep through almost the entire day! What's up with that?! Well, when I first got there, Nurse Jane got me set up in bed, complete with an IV for fluid and meds including benedryl, ativan, and antibiotics. All to keep you calm, comfortable and virus free. Then she monitored my heart and BP all day. Sandy, Dr.Guegetta and Dr Sloane then saw to it that my Stem Cells (three bags - about 7 million! were slowly returned to me over the course of the day.) Unfortunately what they did not have was nose plugs for everyone in the room. I was unable to smell or taste anything at all after high dose chemo the day before, however, the entourage in my room had to bear the ungodly smell of bad roasted garlic and creamed corn... the genuine sum of my stem cells and the lovely preservative that they use to keep it safe until its eventual return to me. 
I passed with flying colors! A long day and a long evening, but I feel once again complete. Now the waiting begins. The high dose chemo will, for all intents and purposes, kill off all of my current blood cells and platelets by next Thursday or Friday. However, my new stem cells will be growing slowly but surely to more mature platelets and cells to replace those that had to be destroyed. Its a delicate balancing act of science and the miracle of new life inside my bone marrow. Truly amazing part of this adventure.
I'm very tired now...and probably will be for several days (so they tell me) but I will try to keep you posted on the comeback journey. They have told me that all is going well so far and I couldn't be in better hands.Thanks for all the continued prayers and cards. They make my day!
I am going out of my mind not being able to do a whole lot other than sit around, however it seems I don't have much energy for much else right now.
Hi Cheryl - Happy RE-birthday! One day at a time, maybe even one hour at a time for the next couple of weeks. The fatigue is there for many reasons: one - to keep you figuratively tied to your bed except for the occasional walk, two - to make your caregivers feel needed since you want to do everything yourself anyway, three-to allow you to focus on those baby stem cells getting situated, revving up and producing a whole new immune system for you. It's quite a task and they can't tolerate you getting in the way and mucking things up :) Sooooo....deep breath, lots of prayers, honing patience, and allowing your body to fully rest as it recovers. Your body is doing amazing work for you right now and your spirit is carrying you, applauding you all the way. As are we :) Hang in there. Choose hope. (And by the way, you are given permission to get annoyed, bitchy, even overwhelmed every so often. I always thought that should be on the prescription pad with the chemo, drugs, and everything else. All temporary of course because this too, shall pass as a famous Papa Doc used to say.)
ReplyDeleteHello Cheryl,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Addie Carone and I am a friend of your Mom.No doubt my name is unfamiliar to you so I'll leave it to Kay to bring you up to date about our friendship. Right now, I would rather focus on YOU because I have learned from your blogs and Kay what a remarkable young woman you are! I'll also add very pretty !
I was a bit behind in getting to the blogs(got help from your Mom)and found it easier to print them (22 pages); now I'm following them in the right order;just finished tonights...congratulations and good luck with your new stem cells...wow...seven million!!!
I asked Kay where your courage,endurance and independence came from and she said it was there ever since you were a little girl and proceeded to tell me a couple of stories about you.( I promised that I wouldn't repeat any!)
I love the title of your blog; that tells all of us who read them just how outstanding you are...and funny too.For those of us who never heard of amyloidosis you are educating us with the medical protocol.
Thank you for sharing your story; I'm anxious to read each new chapter.
I will keep you and your family in my prayers.
With love,
Addie
Great to talk with Fred and hear you stirring in the background. It is hard to imagine either of you not DOING anything, although what you are doing is all that matters right now. Best to both of you and kids. love, Susan
ReplyDelete