Stem Cell Transplant

Well you are stuck with me blogging tonight since John is just exhausted and doesn't feel up to talking to anyone or typing an entry.

I arrived at the hospital this morning and he was nestled under his covers. I could see the exhaustion on his face. At about 11:30 they were in to give him back some of the stem cells they harvested. 5 different people were in the room for this process. Erin our favorite NP was the one to actually administer the transplant. She is very sweet. The stem cells come to the room frozen and once all the prep is complete, they put them in a warm bath to thaw them out to be injected into his catheter. It is not something they just inject in like a shot. They put in a little bit then wait 30 seconds then repeat till the syringe is empty.

They say that when the stem cells are transplanted that it is possible to have a metally taste in his mouth so they give the patients a lemon wedge to suck on while it is happening. Well I have never known John to love lemons enough to put a wedge in his mouth, he doesn't even use lemon in the iced tea that he loves. He did try the lemon but decided instead that he would just drink some water to clean out any metalic taste. The whole process was over in about 15 minutes.

The rest of the day was all about naps. John's legs have been pretty achy, so that means that his sleep is not very restful, but he does get some. He was supposed to be released today, but his kidney function number was too high so they decided to keep him until tomorrow. After they pull labs again tomorrow morning that will be the deciding factor in if he gets to check out. He is definitely ready. He doesn't like the hospital, but one extra day is better than checking back in like he did last time with a fever.

I think John and I both assumed that after getting the stem cells he would get a little pick me up like he does when he has to have a blood transfusion. Well, that is not the case. This process did not give him the boost that he had hoped for.

Gary and Jackie we did receive your package. I will let John open it when he gets back here to the Lodge. Thank you all for the care packages, cards, emails and warm wishes.