Transplant Take 2?

Remember my post from March 14? About how everything was planned and set for my stem cell transplant to go ahead in April? So that didn't quite work out. I'm sure this surprises no one. A stem cell transplant during the early stages of a pandemic is just not a good idea. I was disappointed but OK with the decision. I was less thrilled to be put back on chemotherapy, but at least they weren't going to let me relapse or fall through the cracks. The hematologist figured I would get at least 12 weeks of chemo and then reassess.

Imagine my surprise earlier this week then when I got a call to say that they've been given the green light to reschedule my transplant for June 15! At least, that's the plan. Things could change if the Covid-19 situation gets worse - please stay home! It's going to be a little different than the original plan - mostly because no one will be able to come into the hospital with me for day visits or during my extended stay. This sucks. A lot. I hope the wifi can handle video chats. All in all though, I'm thrilled about this and really hope it goes ahead as I am more than ready to get on with it.

It's going to be a busy five weeks. I have one more week of chemo then a whole bunch of tests. Tests that I did in March but need to redo because I went back on chemo (whee!). I'll also be getting a Covid-19 swab a few days before the transplant just in case I'm asymptomatic. It's nice to know that they don't want to kill me but I'm not looking forward to having my brain swabbed.

All in all things are pretty good. The quarantine is tiresome, as it is for everyone, but we're managing. Chemo sucks and puts me out of commission a few days each week but I make the most of the good ones. I've been cooking and baking up a storm (yes, sourdough, but not only sourdough... I may be partially responsible for the flour shortage) and staying fairly active. You may have seen my Facebook post about this, but I accomplished a major milestone on Easter Sunday - I went along for the full length of our regular dog walk. I haven't done this since July 2015! I now go fairly regularly - whenever my body and the weather allows - and love it. The treadmill is great but you can't beat fresh air with Scott and Barney as company! I'm trying to get as strong as I can before June in hopes that this will help make for a speedier recovery on the other end. I'm missing my physio therapy sessions but managing fairly well on my own with the odd virtual session to make sure I'm on track.  The pic is from that first walk - the snow has since melted (and returned and melted a few more times). Full disclosure: I did not walk Barney, I only held the leash for the picture... actually walking him is one of the many goals I have yet to achieve.



That's about it for now. Stay safe and stay home. Oh, and Happy Mother's Day!

Comments

  1. UnknownJune 7, 2020 at 6:15 PM

    I am sooooo happy for you Gwen. I will keep my fingers crossed that you go in On June 15 and everything goes as planned and your recovery is picture perfect. Be well my friend. We will all be praying for you and the next step of your journey. Much love .... Robbie

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sometimes it's hard to let go

I'm celebrating a pretty major milestone this week, something that has been a long time coming. Nope, not the dog walking - that's so two weeks ago. I had my portacath removed! For those of you who don't know what that is, I'll explain... A portacath (port) is a central line that is surgically placed in your chest for infusions. Scott called it my usb plug. If you need a lot of infusions (chemo, IVIG, etc) and have crappy veins like I did, a port is a great thing. However, it is not without risk and hassle. Mine was 'installed' for IVIG back when they thought I had CIDP and needed endless infusions. I kept it as backup for the stem cell transplant and have been waiting to get it out since. You may recall that my first port got an infection and nearly killed me in 2018 (I wrote about it here ). A port needs to be used or at least flushed every 28 days, so you can never really forget about it. Needless to say, I was over the moon when I finally got the call two we...
Read more

The Main Event

Image
It's been over a month since my stem cell transplant so I guess it's time to try to sum it all up for a blog post. First of all I'm happy to say that I survived. It was an experience that I don't particularly care to repeat (even though I may have to in a few years) but now that I'm on the other end it wasn't too scary. Here's what happened... The day before the actual transplant I got a high dose of chemotherapy. The dose is so high that the stem cell transplant is actually necessary to reboot your immune system. In fact, most, if not all, of the unpleasantness to follow is a result of the chemotherapy. The transplant itself was remarkably quick and simple. I was in a room with a bed, a nurse, a doctor and a technician. They defrosted my frozen stem cells (looked like an ordinary bag of blood) and then hung it from a hook on the ceiling. The bag was attached to my central line (a kind of permanent IV in my chest) and then gravity-fed into me. It felt we...
Read more

2021 - Bon Appetit!

Image
 I had my three-month check-up last week and figured I should write a corresponding three-month blog update. I'm not going to spend time writing about the check-up though because THERE IS NOTHING TO REPORT. That's right, for the first time in years I had an appointment that really didn't need to happen. Everything is as it should be, which is just great.  I'll start with a belated Happy New Year! I hope you and your families had a nice and relaxing holiday. We had the best Christmas we've had in years. Scott and I (and Barney, of course) spent a couple of weeks just hanging out, eating, avoiding emails, and enjoying each other's company. We also spent a fair bit of time with my parents and their dogs. I was spoiled rotten, which was very nice;)  Life is falling into a relatively boring and stable routine and I wouldn't have it any other way. Well, I'd love my full mobility, energy, career, and hairstyle back, but let's not get carried away. I spend m...
Read more