I got a stem cell transplant and I am out of the hospital! They told me on the first day, day +13 was the earliest they’ve seen someone discharged but not to get too excited because that isn’t common. Guess who got out on day +13 ;)
Currently, I am feeling pretty good. When moving, sometimes I need to stop and catch my breath or take a seat but there has been a lot of improvement over the past week.
The outline for my transplant looked like this:
- 7 days chemo
- 1 rest day
- Transplant
- Recovery
As a donor, Amanda gave a lot of her time during spring break to make the many appointments that are required. I asked her to write a little about her experience.
Wed 4/6
“Today was day 3 of injections called Zarxio which stimulate stem cell growth. They put two shots in your arm at each visit which only takes a minute. Some of the side effects I’ve experienced are sore muscles, achy bones, headache, and fatigue. But I take pain medicine and they suggested that I take Claritin each day because it is supposed to decrease the side effects. I’ve been drinking a lot of water, and today I’m going to drink 3 liters. Tomorrow they will see if my stem cell count is high enough and hopefully start drawing blood that will be filtered for the stem cells. I’m a little nervous, but mostly just excited that it’s really happening and there haven’t been any complications so far! If they can harvest enough stem cells then it will be one day process, but I may have to go back on Friday. I’ve been told that they cycle through 3 gallons of blood, but of course give back everything besides the stem cells.”
After Amanda was finished donating her stem cells she and my mom were both allowed to visit me for the transplant. Transplant was anticlimactic as they said it would be, similar to a red blood cell transfusion. I didn’t feel any different but the experience was still exciting and it was more special with Amanda there.
After transplant you wait for the stem cells to settle and start creating new platelets and red/white blood cells. This process takes some time so you start to decline as your current cells die off entering nadir week. This week is the hardest, I was neutropenic which means my white blood cell count was very low specifically the neutrophils that help to fight off infection. I needed both red blood and platelet transfusions. Also a lot of IV fluids as I was not eating or drinking much during this time. My heart rate would shoot up to sometimes the 160’s from just standing up for about 4 days. I spent a lot of time resting. Along with this you are still dealing with the symptoms that come with chemo so it’s not very fun.
Conditioning chemo has a lot of similarities to induction chemo in terms of nausea, aches, and inflammation in the mucosal lining of the GI tract. Some new symptoms were intense stomach pains and diarrhea. This time around instead of having sensitive gums, I had a lot of throat pain.
My white blood cell count and neutrophils rose pretty quickly hence why I was discharged early! Looking forward I have 4 more bone marrow biopsies (booo!) coupled with a long list of appointments. My immune system is very weak, transplant is pretty much a reset. I eventually will have to get all of my baby vaccinations again, experience a cold for the first time with my new immune system, really I’m kind of like a baby and susceptible to anything.
Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me and wishing me well throughout my leukemia journey. I am overwhelmed with the amount of people who reached out to me or my family members. It hasn’t been easy but this process has been like nothing I’ve ever experienced and I have just felt so blessed and protected throughout it.