Transplant Accomplished!

It is done. But it certainly was a very long night for us. Apparently the donor must have decided to have the stem cells harvested from his bone marrow instead of from his peripheral blood. At least that’s what we are guessing was the reason. Originally we were told that he would be receiving the five days of injections to stimulate his stem cells before they were harvested but it turns out that they took the cells from his bone marrow instead, thus he did not have to go through the days of injections. Although extracting the cells via the bone marrow route is more invasive, it is much quicker & requires an hour or so outpatient appointment to accomplish it so I can see why one would choose that route. 

When we questioned what the difference between a “Bone Marrow” vs “Stem Cell” transplant was, we received this explanation; As it turns out, the only real distinction is in the method of collecting the stem cells. When stem cells are collected from bone marrow and transplanted into a patient, the procedure is known as a Bone Marrow transplant. If the transplanted stem cells came from the bloodstream, the procedure is called a peripheral blood Stem Cell transplant—sometimes shortened to “stem cell transplant.” So whether you hear someone talking about a “stem cell transplant” or a “bone marrow transplant,” they are still referring to stem cell transplantation. The only difference is where in the body the transplanted stem cells came from. The transplants themselves are the same.

So to get on with how the actual transplant went last night. The donors stem cells did not arrive until evening & then they had to prepare them for transfusion into Ray’s blood stream. At 10 PM they hooked him up & began the transfusion. It was a very large bag of blood/cells & we were told that because it came from the donor’s marrow, it tends to be thicker & must be set at a slower drip. The nurses were in continuously throughout the night monitoring Ray’s vitals. At first every 15 minutes & then once an hour. Ray thought he needed a sleeping pill so that he could sleep, but personally I think he would have dosed without one because he was already so tired. But nevertheless, they gave him a sleeping pill.

There really was no sleep to be had for either of us during this time. Ray had to continually use the bathroom which was somewhat of a challenge because he was tethered so closely to the IV pole & couple that with being so groggy (remember he took that sleeping pill), it kept me on my toes assisting him so there were no mishaps. I would lay down but could never really sleep because I needed to stay alert to any needs & assistance he needed.

After six long hours, the transfusion finally completed around 4 AM. Ray did great! No problems at all. His vitals remained good all night. He became a little flushed & still is more so than usual. But really, for the past month we have noticed his face always seemed to be really flushed, as if he had sunburn. This morning his stomach is grumbling a little & he has a slight headache. They can give him some meds to hopefully combat those issues. His appetite has gone south too but he did eat a small breakfast. The doctor commented this morning on his gaining 8 lbs since checking in 7 days ago because usually folks lose weight. But while he was feeling okay these past few days, he ate really well. I can see that turning around now though so I suspect the gained weight will be shed soon.

The doctor also encouraged Ray to continue his daily walking as much as he can tolerate so after he got his morning shower we walked the halls for awhile. Granted it was a much slower pace than before, but he did well. I imagine that the remainder of today & tonight will be spent trying to catch up on some much needed sleep. He is totally exhausted right now & beginning to feel really puny. However, his feeling ill was totally expected & unfortunately par for the course.

Now is when the critical time-frame begins as we watch how his body reacts to the donors stem cells. He is on anti-rejection drugs to help prevent his body from rejecting the new cells. Unfortunately some of the meds they must give Ray often cause some unpleasant side effects like mouth sores, rashes, etc. but they will deal with those issues if they happen. The good news is that the 18 year old male donor was a 10 for 10 match to Ray AND they have the same blood type which also lessens some negative outcomes.  We know that it’s vital that Ray not be exposed to any germs now because he it totally unable to fight them off. We know that he will become increasingly more tired for awhile. At least until the stem cells start doing their job. In approximately 2 to 3 weeks, if all goes well, he should feel a turnaround & began feeling better.  We’re praying for that day…