Sarah will soon be headed off to isolation for a week or so, just depending on how her blood levels respond.There is not set time on isolation. Brian and Espon will get new PICC lines in their necks and begin chemo this afternoon. I am running one day behind them as I did not get enough stem cells yesterday in my first attempt. Dr. Fedorenko said that 25% of patients will harvest enough in one attempt. Guess I am not in the top of the class, just an average C student. Ha! If all goes well I get the neck catheter out later today and will start chemo tomorrow. I am back on the aphresis machine for another 4-5 hours today. Hopefully this will do the trick and give me the number of stem cells that I need to move to the next step.
As it turns out I did not produce enough stem cells today for the necessary allotment. We will try again tomorrow, however I am really close to having the full amount. The first day they harvested 900,000 stem cells and today they added 800,000. So I am at 1,700,000 and only need to be over 2,000,000. Should be a lay up to complete in the morning. Then I can finally move forward with the treatment. First thing for me to look forward is to get this large neck catheter removed from my neck. It will be replaced with a smaller one that should be a little more comfortable. The chemo will be delivered through that smaller catheter. Then its the big moment: hair cut! HaHa! For an older balding guy it is not too traumatic. Feel terrible for people with a full head of hair to deal with this issue. Hair is an important part of a persona. Diseases like MS can kick a person in so many ways. This is just one small example of its insidiousness.
Brian, Espon, and myself was able to go for a walk a grab a quick lunch this afternoon. Anastasia recommended a nice restaurant about 3 blocks from the hospital. Very nice setting in the restaurant, which was mostly authentic Russian food. I at Borsch soup for the first time and really like it a lot.
It felt to me that it was difficult to have a lively conversation as we looked like zombies from :The Walking Dead". Seems to me that we were all worn out from the last few days of treatment. Felt like I stumbled back to the hospital and slumped on the bed. Slept for a few hours in a very deep sleep. The slumber felt good, but I felt bad for missing a stem cell birthday celebration. Elena had her party as she completed her transplant this afternoon. Congrats Elena!!!! I want to do my best to attend every stem cell birthday while I am here. Elena was kind enough to share some of here authentic Russian candies with me
Things are moving along with the treatment for everyone. Pace is picking up and I do see any signs of it slowing down. Some more patients have been moving in as the finishing groups are leaving. Our group has Brian and Epson starting chemo tomorrow. Sasha and I should finish harvesting tomorrow also. Then the four of us will be on chemo for the four day duration. Sarah has been moved into isolation now. Patricia has been having a little bit of a hard time with the harvesting. I need to go down and check on her as I haven't seen her all day today. I saw her husband briefly when we returned from lunch.
All in all our group has a family feel to and I suppose most groups that come through here do. Being here without a good group would definitely put a damper on the experience. Speaking only for our group I can say that I am very lucky and fortunate to be with others that are so approachable, compassionate, and kind. I truly love our group and feel that we want nothing but the very best for one another. And of course, we have the same mission on this trip. We want our life and health back and it is easier to accomplish this with support and love, whether it is near or far. Right now, right here, we are our own support group. It's something that I'm very happy and proud to part of. Would rather not be anywhere else in the world right now.
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