Skip to main content

Day +11 Update (on track so far)

The past week has been tough as I manage the side affects of all the chemotherapy and as the donor cell engraftment process continues.  If you’ve had the unfortunate experience of chemotherapy, you can relate to the fatigue, nausea, hair loss, digestive issues and other side affects.  This is just much worse due to the intensity of the chemotherapy given over a short period of time.  But, the nurses here are absolutely amazing and know how to help you get through it all. Most importantly, all signs are that I'm on schedule and the process continues to progress as planned.  

My white blood cell count went to 0.0 on day +6 and has remained there since.  When this count begins to increase, the side affects should lessen.  My platelet count is also low.  Since I had the craniotomy just prior to the transplant, I have an increased risk of serious bleeding.  They are keeping the platelets at a safe level of above 30 which requires almost daily platelet transfusions.  Several walks a day, as Connie and I take the dog for a walk, go on a bike ride or other visualization have been helpful.  Five laps around the floor is a mile.  There are 48 rooms of stem cell patients on our 18th floor, and the same on the 17th floor.  We are contained to our temporary home on the 18th other than Connie doing laundry once per week.

This week is what I'm referring to as "waiting on a friend", which is for the white blood cell count to begin to increase.  For an allogeneic (donor) transplant, this usually occurs on Day +14, but could happen sooner or later.

Thank you again for continuing to keep those positive thoughts and prayers coming.

Gary

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 17, 2020 at 9:48 PM

    The Denver CCL group met this evening. Lori read your update to the group. Hopefully it won't be long before you can join us. Looking forward hearing that your "Friend" has arrived. Thinking of you and sending lots of positive thoughts your way. Mark

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownNovember 18, 2020 at 4:01 PM

    We really appreciate the update. Hang in there buddy! You're gonna beat this thing!

    ReplyDelete
  3. SauravNovember 19, 2020 at 4:00 AM

    Hi Gary, wish you a super fast recovery, and lots of smiles ahead.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nort and SusanNovember 19, 2020 at 7:50 AM

    Gary we are thinking about you and praying that your Friend comes soon! No more waiting! You are strong and brighter days lie ahead. We love you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. ManiNovember 19, 2020 at 12:04 PM

    Gary, Glad to see your regular updates. Sending good vibes and positive thoughts your way to get through this challenging phase smoothly!

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownNovember 20, 2020 at 4:12 PM

    Hang in there buddy!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Denise GrillsNovember 20, 2020 at 4:13 PM

    Hi Gary, Sending you lots of good thoughts and prayers. We finished our LLS auction and should add another at least $1500 into the LLS coffers after printing and shipping. Next year when you are back we can take the auction to the next level.

    Best to Connie and we will watch for updates.

    Denise Grills

    ReplyDelete
  8. Mary Kay De SpainNovember 24, 2020 at 7:07 AM

    Thinking about you daily Gary and so appreciate the updates. I hope your “Friend” shows up soon and the ill-effects of Chemo leave even sooner. Our thoughts & prayers are with you both.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Story

 Hello Family and Friends, Thank you for following my blog and your love and support over the years and especially now during my Journey to a Cure.  I thought I would start this BLOG by telling my story and how I got to the point where a bone marrow transplant is the next best step in my cancer battle.  And hopefully a long term, durable cure. In September 2008, during a routine physical exam, my white blood cell count came back unusually high. The next month was busy with many doctor appointments, tests, learning, and ultimately a diagnosis - at the age of 44 I had cancer and specifically CLL or Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.   CLL is usually an older patient disease, a slowly progressing disease, and at the time already had some good treatment options.  Many CLL patients never need treatment and I had the “good marker”, 13q deletion to be technical. CLL is not hereditary (although my Uncle Marc did have CLL later in his life) and like many cancers the exact cau...
8 comments
Read more

The Process

In prior posts, I’ve referred to the “process” of the bone marrow transplant.  And quite the complex, multiple step and lengthy process it is. The first step is to repeat a series of outpatient tests to confirm that I’m fit for the transplant.  This is ongoing for the week of October 5th at MD Anderson.  At the end of this testing, I will get a central venous line (CVC) inserted for the next steps and ultimately the donor stem cell infusion. I’ll check into the hospital on October 10 to begin the second step which is referred to as “conditioning”.  This involves chemotherapy to bring your immune system to zero in order to prepare for its replacement with the donor’s immune system.   During this time, the donor will be going through a procedure called Apheresis to harvest his stem cells from his peripheral blood. The cells will be cryogenically frozen and transported to MD Anderson.  The donor cells were collected on October 7 and now on the way to Houston. ...
3 comments
Read more

Day +108: Back home in Colorado

 “Country roads, take me home, to the place, I belong” We arrived in Houston on October 28, 2020 during the aftermath of Hurricane Zeta and finally left Houston on February 19, 2021 during the cleanup of the worst winter storm to hit Texas in decades.   That’s 114 days for those counting, like Connie and I.  The winter disaster in Texas was as crippling as you read - millions including us were out of power, heat, water and even internet for several full days.  Even the hospitals were closed for a full week, primarily due to a lack of running water.  Houston really showed it’s true colors with neighbors helping each other and even “Mattress Mack” opening his mattress showrooms to help those in need of a warm place to sleep. The big Day +100 milestone (from the donor cell transplant on November 6th) came and went as it was overshadowed by the winter disaster.  We had remained in Houston for a final blood test in order to leave with confidence that my White Bl...
3 comments
Read more