So after 24 days in the hospital I was finally able to leave the hospital and go home last week Friday. The transplant went very well and thankfully the chemotherapy that I was given was much weaker than what I had during the last transplant. All of my blood counts recovered pretty quickly except for the most important ones which are the white blood cells and the absolute neutrophils, these are the baby white cells that are the infection fighters. Since it was taking awhile for them to come up the doctors decided to give me a neupogen shot which helps the cells form faster. A common side effect of neupogen shots is bone pain in the hips as this is where the bone marrow that produces the cells are located. I have had many neupogen shots in the past without too much pain but this time I experienced some of the worst pain that I have ever felt. After being given two oxycodone pills I was still in extreme pain so they gave me an injection of dilaudid. For those of you who don't know what dilaudid is, it's a pain reducer similar to morphine but 5 times stronger and let me tell you it works!!! The next day they tested my blood again and the reason for the extreme pain was because my body went into overdrive and the white cells and absolute neutrophils bursted out with a vengeance. My WBC went from 1.8 to 16.1 and my neutrophils went from 0.5 to 2.5! Thanks to the neupogen I was released the next day. Since being released I am still having to go to the hospital everyday to check my blood levels but it is much nicer to be able to walk in get my tests and leave after a few hours than being stuck there 24 hours a day in a solitary room. I am starting to feel better and better each day and cannot wait for them to run the tests to see if the donor cells are grafting or not. They will run this test in a few weeks so keep your fingers crossed! An interesting fact that I learned yesterday is that when the cells do graft I will have two sets of DNA within my body. The DNA found in my organs will still be my own but the DNA found in my blood will be that of my donor. And since my donor is a female my blood will show the DNA of a female.
I will try and post updates more often now that I am starting to feel better. Thanks to everyone for their continued support!
6 comments:
Go white blood cells!!! Rayne knows all about dilaudid (migraines). Great to hear things went well. we just missed Travis in Bozeman by one day. Thinking about you.
omg that is awesome news. Thank you for keeping us updated. Tina is having the best time ever, she sends pics of her and tanya on the rides. Jen tried to send pics from her's and phil's honeymoon so we have to wait till she comes back. Kristy gave birth so cute the babe. Debbie is gonna bust lol. We miss you tons dude and sowee you gonna miss the safety lunch. No worries tho - we will eat for you hahaha... take care and let us know if you need anything. text me. we L O V E you big time... Mom D
so good to hear an update! tapping into your feminine side with your female dna?
So glad you got to go home and that everything is going well. We miss you and think of you often! Did you get to watch the UW game last night? Yeah, go Huskies!! Between that and the UH game, it was a good night. I just saw that the national championship game will be in Arizona this season. Will you still be there? If so, you should totally go. Anwyays, thinking of you and me and the boys send lots of hugs and love your way.
Hey Alika....glad to hear that your counts are up...just keep up the good fight and we'll see you soon...everybody sends their best wishes for you and your family
Great news!
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