After seven months of wondering what's next, and wishing next would hurry up and get here, it is hard to believe that "next" has finally arrived. All of the vital organ testing came back with good results, and the two tumors on his ribs and lung have disappeared. There is still 4% of the cancerous plasma cells left floating around, but that was no surprise given the stubborn .4 M-Spike. The results were good enough for him to be eligible for an allogeneic (donor) bone marrow transplant. However (isn't there always a however?), John made the decision to have an autologous bone marrow transplant where they will be using his own bone marrow. This week has left me too brain dead to go into more detail about autologous stem cell transplants. So for more information on exactly what in the heck this is you can visit: http://www.webmd.com/cancer/autologous-stem-cell-transplant
The reason John has chosen to go this route is that he is concerned about post-transplant quality of life issues; and quite frankly surviving the transplant, given everything that he has struggled with thus far. He is optimistic that when his Myeloma numbers go up again, there will be more treatment options available to him. I support whatever decision he makes, but I have mixed emotions about this. I'll leave it at that.
That said, he will begin getting Neupogen shots this Saturday (4/7/12) which will help stimulate stem cell growth. He will get a Neupogen shot Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. On Tuesday they will also put in his central line. On Wednesday (4/11/12) they will collect stem cells. Apparently this is a 4-6 hour procedure. If they are not able to collect enough, then he will get another shot with some other kind of magic crap to make him grow more stem cells overnight, so that they can collect stem cells again on the 12th. Hopefully they will fish out enough stem cells on the 11th! And if you have Facetime or Skype capabilities, feel free to digitally drop in and say "Hi" to him on the 11th, as I am sure he will be happy to have someone help him pass the time. Then he will get a couple days off, followed by an admission date of April 16th.
On April 16th he will get one huge dose of chemotherapy using a drug called Melphalan. The next day will be a day of rest. And then the following day, April 18th, will be his Day 0 when they do the transplant. In a nut shell, during the next couple weeks his counts will drop, he will get sick, his hair will fall out, new cells start growing, his counts come back up, and then he can go home for recovery. On a side note, I am accepting wagers as to whether or not his eyebrows stay on or fall out. I'm betting those suckers hang on for dear life!
Today, we spent several hours in the ER at St. Joseph's due to high BP and a tightness in John's chest. It was a spectacular experience, and the guy in the next curtain made me grateful I went to work for a few hours while they finished the stress test on John. That guy managed to wail and ball his eyes out, while LOUDLY wretching his guts out...all at the same time! I was equally disgusted and impressed - as this is something that even my high drama middle schooler has not managed to achieve. Clearly, that takes talent. Fortunately, all of John's tests were negative. He was sent home with discharge papers in hand, and a receipt for the ER deductible - printed with what appeared to be a freshly installed ink cartridge. Wouldn't want anyone to mistake the exact cost of today's adventure. Hopefully, they didn't also send us home with whatever the hell that dude in the next curtain was gacking up.
Even though I spent today trying to get to work, navigate the ER (and not touch anything in that germ cesspool), as well as check in on my tonsil and adenoid free daughter who was at home sleeping off anti-nausea meds there is a bit of good news. Somehow in the middle of all this, I miraculously somehow managed to answer a really important phone call from Moffitt. His oncologist's nurse called to tell me everything had been approved...signed...sealed...and that we were being delivered the official schedule for John's autologous BMT. It was like that commercial where in the midst of a cacophony of sounds there is suddenly a moment of pure silence. In that moment I took off my cranky pants, put on my big girl panties, and took that moment to be thankful. I was thankful things are moving forward. I was thankful my principal at work has been so supportive - even after weeks like this one, and knowing what's yet to come this month. I was thankful for all my friends who continue to be there for me. I was thankful that my sister is coming next week. I was thankful that my mom is arriving the 24th. Because without these people, we might not have made it this far. But most of all, I am thankful that we have made it this far...and that John is still here...bugging the crap out of me.
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