I took a big test today-it had 5.2 million questions and took 7 hours with almost constant surveillance (I’m sure they were making sure I didn’t cheat). If I passed the test, I could be done with the process that tells my bone marrow to produce and send stem cells into my bloodstream. If I failed, it meant another day of shots, headaches, nausea, diarrhea, fatigue and bone pain, plus another day in apheresis (the dialysis-like procedure that separates and collects stem cells from my blood).
Great news!! In about 2 cups of stem cells mixed with a little plasma, they collected 10.7 million stem cells; twice the number they were hoping for! That’s enough for four transplants!
More good news! Instead of the three days off before chemotherapy, I get five days off.
It turns out that, along with stem cells, the Apheresis process sucks all the energy out of a patient. I’m hoping to get some of the energy back so I can enjoy the next five days.
We should all celebrate together!