Day Minus 3

Today is known on the schedule as 'Day -3'. It is three days before Chris gets her stem cells transplanted back. 

Today she has been receiving fluids through her port in preparation of having her chemo this afternoon. They said this should start about 4:00. This all happens in the comfort of a nice recliner next to her bed.

Taking it easy looking through the room service menu

Out for an evening stroll

She had to have a cat with her to keep her company

Rules of Engagement

Chris will be admitted to the hospital tomorrow morning for her BMT. She will be in the hospital for 3 or 4 weeks and during that time will have a very low resistance to infection. Therefore, we would like to set up some Rules of Engagement.

1. Please do not bring or send any flowers. These are not allowed in her room. Also avoid items that can be dust traps. 
2. Chris will be able to have visitors but please coordinate these visits with Gary. Visitor must also:
1. Not be sick.
2. Wash hands and use sanitizer before and after visiting her room. There is a sink outside the room.
3. Not bring children under the age of 12. It is flu season and this has been highly advised by the hospital care givers.
4. Come with smiles.

Thank you for your continued love, prayers, and support.

More of the Most

Making the Most of this Week

Out to lunch with the girls (Chris wants the swordfish ... just like on Chuck)

At Hunter's basketball game
Time with Morgan and Paige doing fingernails

2.53 Million Over Goal

The results for today's collection is in and Chris had 2.54 million more stem cells than the goal of 10 million. 

We also received a tentative date of January 31st for being admitted to the hospital for the the transplant.

UPDATE! Hoping For Lots of Stem Cells

Chris is all hooked up and the machine is doing its work collecting stem cells. She is watching Netflix on her tablet so she is not too bored.

We hope that we can get this done in as few sessions as possible. Four hours on this thing is not the most fun thing in the world. However, we feel very blessed that they have this technology available.

WOW!!!

Just found out that they collected 8 million of the 10 million stem cells that they need on the first day. That means that there is only one more day of collection and only one trip into LDS Hospital tomorrow.

Another Step Complete

Another step is now complete on Chris's journey. She had a TriFusion catheter implanted this morning. This will stay with her until she gets released from the hospital following her high-dose chemo. 

We will go home for a bit and then come back at 5 pm for an injection. Then back tomorrow to put the new port to work with the collection of stem cells.

The Fun Starts Today

The BMT process starts today. 

Today (Day 1):

Visit by a Home Health Care nurse. She showed Gary how to do injections, gave some other instructions, and asked a billion questions.

Day 1 through Day 3: Morning injections of Neupogen a granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF). This is done at home. 

Monday (Day 4): Go early to the LDS Hospital, have blood draws, receive another Neupogen injection, and get a TriFusion central line implanted. Then back to the hospital in the evening for an injection of Mozobil (simulates stem cells).

Tuesday - Thursday (Days 5-7): Go early to the hospital each day, have blood draws, receive Neupogen injection, be connected to a machine for 4 hours to collect stem cells from blood. Then back to the hospital in the evening for an injection of Mozobil.

End of January or first of February: Admitted to the hospital for high-dose chemo, BMT, and recovery.

I Passed!

I passed my tests and I'm ready to start the next phase. Most important, I bought two new hats to go with a new hair style I'm sure to have.

Tests, Tests, and More Tests Marathon

Today has been a marathon of tests in preparation for the bone marrow transplant. It actually started yesterday morning when Chris had to collect her pee for 24 hours and store it in the fridge. NO that is not apple juice!

We started at 8:45 at the LDS Hospital 1st floor with full body x-rays.

We then worked our way up to the 6th floor for pulmonary tests. Chris got her workout breathing in and out of a big tube that was hooked to a machine that graphed all her in and outgoing air.

Next it was up to the 7th floor to have a look at her heart. This first started with an ultrasound and then they hooked her up to an EKG. Hey!, I thought these hospital gowns were supposed be open in the back.

Last of all it was up to the 8th floor for blood work and a bone marrow biopsy from her hip. They gave her something to knock her out so she wouldn't feel too much.

We will come back on the 16th of January to find out all of the results.