Treatment day 2 Hospital pictures & more

Not much to talk about today. Fairly slow day in terms of the treatment. Last night was a little bit negative in that the steroids and Neupogen gave me insomnia to the tune that I did not fall asleep until 6 am. Just stared at the ceiling without feeling sleepy at all. Not even a little. Did take a sleeping tablet at 3 am when I was given the second Neupogen shot. Didn't help, so the Dr. told me to take two tablets tonight instead of only 1. Hopefully it will help.

Had another steroid infusion in mid morning that was uneventful. Which is a good thing! Bernard and I walked down to a store to pick up a few more items. First time I had been at this store. Its closer to the hospital so it is nice and convenient. A little small but had mostly what we were looking for. Will probably make another trip there to get some items for some of the patients who are unable to leave the hospital. Its a very close knit group that is anxious and willing to help each other. Get the impression that is the norm here at A.A. Maximov Hospital. Certainly is getting to be a family type atmosphere among ourselves. Kinda feels like everyone will do whatever to help another and do it without question. We've not talked about this yet as a group, but that is unequivocally how I feel. It seems other peoples actions validate this to me. Wanted to mention this for any future patients coming to A.A. Maximov. Do not agitate over being here alone if you do not have carers attend with you. There is a built in carer group within your group. Wonderful experience to say the least.

Our group is well represented by a diversity of countries. I may not have this exactly correct, however the point remains that we have patients from all over the world. For those that speak very little English we use Google translator and have understandable conversations. The group consists of patients from 2)Norway, 3)Australia,1) United Kingdom,1) Ireland, 2)Russia, and 2)America. Starting Monday there will be some new arrivals and I am unsure of what country they will arriving from.

Should anyone be interested in the schedule of HSCT I decided to add this page. We received this paper upon admittance. This document is a brief overview of the schedule for HSCT treatment at A.A. Maximov Hospital in Russia.

Some information about the doctor that the hospital is named after and I have the impression that he is a major figure in the world of stem cells.

A.A. Maximov Hospital in Moscow, Russia. Named after Alexander Maximov, some consider to be the father of naming the term "stem cell". He and his family fled Russia in 1922 and moved to Chicago and continued his work there until his death. They changed the family when moving to Chicago from Maksimov to Maximov. Pulled these bullet points from a web page online that gives A.A. Maximov his due for his work in the stem cell field.

1908: A Russian histologist, named Alexander Maksimov, is the first to propose the term "Stem Cell". Maksimov proposed the term during a congress of the hematologic society in Berlin. He was the first to hypothesise the existence of haematopoietic stem cells.

1924: Alexander A. Maximow identifies a singular type of precursor cell within the mesenchyme that develops into different types of blood cells. The cells discovered, were later revealed to be mesenchymal stem cells.

Read more: http://www.stemcellsfreak.com/p/stem-cell-history.html#ixzz4P9jFYRB2

Photos of the facade at A.A. Maximov Hospital.

Small chapel on the grounds here.

 Later tonight I will receive two more shots of the Neupogen drug. This time I will be taking 2 sleeping tablets with the hope that I can get a full and restful night of sleep.

Our group is planning an outing for dinner tomorrow night. Should be fun and entertaining. Its going to a positive experience for the people that have been cooped up a little longer than the newer arrivals. Psychologically should benefit us all. Things like this reinforce to me that we are gelling into a informal stem cell family.