Hi Folks,
Wow, tomorrow is the big day. And what a couple of days
the last 2 have been. So last night, Monday afternoon, my body did something I
hadn't approved. It had a reaction to the atg chemo. Wich meant some
interesting shivers which then turn into a nice high temperature. I
peaked at 39.9, a new record for me. So I did my usual response, body
too hot, drink lots of cold water, and take (almost) all my clothes off.
I created a bit of stir I did. But if anybody knocked and I heard them,
I did warn them, semi naked guy sweating like hell. So between nausea,
shivers, and then high fever, oh, I forgot I now have a bit of irregular hear beat to. And to add to the humility, I had to ask the
nurse about bladder control. People, I may joke about cancer, but it is
a piece of crap that needs to be taken care of. I'm going to start a
new page outlining the high cost for us, with a bit of humility put in.
And buy that, I am talking about the difficulty in coming to terms with
this, paying for things a lot of people can't afford, The difficulty of
having to accept help. Having to realize that you may be losing control
of some your body. (my personal favorite portion of the adventure so
far, kidding so much, my head hurts). 8-)
Okay, enough ranting for the moment. Today, Tuesday,
day before the transplant, almost same frigging thing as yesterday.
Except earlier…..As I type this, the shivers are done, into the fever
portion now, down from 38.4 to 38.2. woo hoo! I take my pluses when I
gets 'em.
I will update the blog tomorrow and the next day,
but will not be sending out any emails for a couple of days, unless
someone has any questions. Yes, you in the back? Is there any way we can help John?
1: Lots and lots of prayers and positive energy
for the next couple of days, if not week. It does not matter if it is prayer,
good thoughts, mantras, good wishes. It all helps and I greatly appreciate all of them.
2: Please do not send flowers, candy (okay maybe a little fudge, no nuts please), not even silk flowers…. 8-(
3:
Food, near and dear to my heart. I had an interesting discussion with
one of the nurses. Someone may be able to bring in a small deep dish
pizza, but we need to organize this, I don't need 20 small deep dish
pizzas showing up at once! Well okay, if I wasn't semi quarantined and
in the hospital, yes, yes I would, but over the next couple of weeks, let’s
organize.
4: I luv cards! Personalize them please, and make them colourful, bright, happy, please and thank you.
Please don’t feel that you have to do any of the above, except #1, that's mandatory for all of you. 8-)
If you want to do any of the above, that makes it special to me, that's awesome it's all greatly appreciate, especially the awesome support I receive from all of you!
If you are thinking of other items, being the brains that you all are, could you please coordinate with Barb T? thanks!
Facebook page setup for me by an awesome granddaughter Adrianna: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=183407786579
Unfortunately you have to have facebook account to access it. Sorry.
So if you want my home mail address, leave me a private comment or sign my guest-book, please.
Stem Cell Transplant Process - Day 6 Sunday
My brother and my wife and granddaughter all showed up at the same time! Woo Hoo! Good visit.
Still receiving Fludarabine and Busulfan for chemo. Uneventful day, the Sundays should be. Question of the day: If codeine makes you nauseous, at how much pain would you need to be in to take it? My answer to that, and more riveting questions, next week. Tomorrow they add Antithymocyte and then things get interesting. I'm told to expect nausea, maybe some vertigo and mouth sores within 7 days!
Nurses are still surprised that I'm not really nauseous, I hope to keep surprising them on that! I'm starting to get tired, I am not able to sleep through the night at all. They have me on extra hydration and drinking lots of water so you know where I spend most of my time, every couple of hours at night. Not to mention the iv bag changes, the vital signs being taken and then being told to get my rest! Wow, I love people with a sense of humor!
Feet were swollen up and so I started walking in my room. That fixed up the feet quickly. I tried to do some of the recommend exercises yesterday, but I think I'll hold off on that again until things heal a bit more. Monday, Tuesday, then launch day!
Still receiving Fludarabine and Busulfan for chemo. Uneventful day, the Sundays should be. Question of the day: If codeine makes you nauseous, at how much pain would you need to be in to take it? My answer to that, and more riveting questions, next week. Tomorrow they add Antithymocyte and then things get interesting. I'm told to expect nausea, maybe some vertigo and mouth sores within 7 days!
Nurses are still surprised that I'm not really nauseous, I hope to keep surprising them on that! I'm starting to get tired, I am not able to sleep through the night at all. They have me on extra hydration and drinking lots of water so you know where I spend most of my time, every couple of hours at night. Not to mention the iv bag changes, the vital signs being taken and then being told to get my rest! Wow, I love people with a sense of humor!
Feet were swollen up and so I started walking in my room. That fixed up the feet quickly. I tried to do some of the recommend exercises yesterday, but I think I'll hold off on that again until things heal a bit more. Monday, Tuesday, then launch day!
Stem Cell Transplant Process - Day 5 Saturday
Long day with
chemo, kinda boring. More blood taken, then surprised the on call doc
by telling her, nope, sorry, still not nauseous. Then a huge surprise,
my brother/donor showed up! That was a very pleasant surprise! I had a
great visit with him and then shortly after he left, my wife and
granddaughter #1 showed up! We had a nice visit, then when they went
home I spent the next 2 hours fixing my web cam set ups again..... 8-)
Stem Cell Transplant Process - Day 4 Friday
Friday, uneventful
day, as busy as Fridays ever get. I had every intention of going home
until the stupid snow hit Calgary. I told my wife to turnaround and
just go home, it definitely wasn't worth either her nor my
granddaughter to get hurt so I could go home. Interesting though, get
woke up every 4 hours or so for blood work, but make sure you get rest.
ha!
Stem Cell Transplant Process - Day 3 Thursday
Wow, busy, busy days! And I haven't even had the stem cell transplant yet!
Ah well, so far, test chemo dose on Tuesday, dose 1 on Wednesday, dose 2 today! I was told to expect some nausea, but nothing. woo hoo! In the hospital at 8:00, gone by 11:15. So I continue to surprise the medical staff. My nurse told me that they were shocked to see me in the ward since I still have hair. Apparently, I get to lose it over the next few weeks again. Personally, I don't mind being bald, it means I don't have to shave as often either, ha! The other thing that surprised her was that my cvc in my chest hadn't bled at all so the dressing didn't have to be changed. Again, woo hoo! Busy day because work was very busy. Helped make the time go by quicker.
Ah well, so far, test chemo dose on Tuesday, dose 1 on Wednesday, dose 2 today! I was told to expect some nausea, but nothing. woo hoo! In the hospital at 8:00, gone by 11:15. So I continue to surprise the medical staff. My nurse told me that they were shocked to see me in the ward since I still have hair. Apparently, I get to lose it over the next few weeks again. Personally, I don't mind being bald, it means I don't have to shave as often either, ha! The other thing that surprised her was that my cvc in my chest hadn't bled at all so the dressing didn't have to be changed. Again, woo hoo! Busy day because work was very busy. Helped make the time go by quicker.