It's not quite the final countdown, but this one will hopefully bring me to 10-20 years of remission!
We just got home from meeting with the Dr. & the Transplant Nurse and have way too much information...
Monday, Sept. 14th, I start the stem cell transplant process!! Yay!! I was hoping it would just be a quick little thing but it turns out, there's a lot to it and *maybe* it's a big deal.
The first step is harvesting my stem cells before the transplant. I will go into the treatment center every day and get a shot to stimulate white blood cell growth and flood my system with stem cells. A catheter will be put into my jugular vein (ew!!) and they will take my blood and in a process similar to dialysis, my stem cells are separated from my blood and collected. Usually people going through this process need transfusions and are pretty wiped out.
I'll have 3-4 weeks to recover, get my red and white blood cell numbers back up there so I can fight infection and have a couple tests to make sure my body is ready for the transplant. I will have to be super careful about germs during this time. When I'm in a good place, I think around the beginning to mid October, the actual transplant will happen. This happens in the hospital. I'll get a dose of conditioning chemo to get rid of any myeloma that's left in my body and then I get my stem cells back. I'll be in the hospital for a couple weeks to make sure I have the care I need for the process of my stem cells grafting in and to fight any infection. I'll be like a newborn at this point as far as my immune system and have to be super cautious.
That is the super dumbed-down version, but I hope it's helpful to understand what is happening and how we could use your prayers, love and support. We couldn't do this without you, our friends and family and the love and faithfulness of God!
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| A little hike on the Preston-Snoqualamie trail. |
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| At Treehouse Point!! |
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| My handsome hiking companion. |
8 comments:
My thoughts and prayers are with you Chelsa.
You can do this. I know because I've been through two of these myself and I'm fine now. Mine were out-patient the whole time, so it's not impossible. I was in such a cloud, I could control what I wanted to dream about. It was like being on Willie's bus, at least that's what I told everybody - (youtube - I'll never smoke weed with Willie again). Everything won't go exactly as planned, but they can handle it. especially if you go to a center like Seattle.
Best of luck.
Chelsa, sending thoughts and prayers. Faithful that everything will turn out great for you:)
hey, Chelsea.........a stem cell transplant IS a huge undertaking.........both of my sisters-in-law went through one, and I remember it well. God will prepare you for it mentally, physically, and spiritually. I am praying for you to come through this with flying colors and you are in my thoughts daily! hugs, hugs, hugs :)
Wow, great news! I'm so excited to hear about this amazing plan. I'll be praying for you through this process!
Thoughts & PRAYERS to you both!! You got this, Chelsa!!!
You are amazing Chelsa. I love you.
I've been praying for you all week and will continue to through the process. God is good and as weird as it may sound, he seems especially good in times of suffering. I know that you're going to grow much deeper in your relationship with him through this. I'm praying for Matt as well as I know how hard it is to watch your beloved wife go through something like this.
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