I often finding myself playing Scrabble. Yes, I am a word nerd. I love playing against the computer. Sometimes, I can look at the letters and find a word right away. But other times, I can't quite see clearly enough.....so I have to hit the 'shuffle' button. It is amzaing how clear new words become.
That is the object lesson I felt after we finished the 'patient care' class that lasted 3 1/2 hours. We talked about the reality of depression, distress, and how distress in cancer care is not a sign of weakness. We discussed foggy thinking, anxious thoughts, moodiness, overwhelmed feelings, physical signs that show up from added stress and the many ways that we can hit the "shuffle" button and look at things with a new clarity.
When someone goes in for a transplant, the first steps they take are the harvest. That is what we are doing this week. They start by giving you shots in your stomach that will increase the red cell productions that will result in the OVER production of stem cells. Gus will start this on Saturday. On day three, Monday for us, he will then be sedated and haved a port or as they call it ' a central line--Hickman' , placed in his chest. He will have three ports coming out of his shoulder that look like the cords on the back of a dvd player. Three different colors, three different backs ups as not to over stress one port over the others. Then on Tueday, the draws begin. He will be hooked up to a machine that looks similar to the ones they use if you donate plasma. The red blood cells are pulled out of his body, goes through the cleaning machine that pulls out the stem cells and gives you your blood back. In and out.......in about 4-6 hours. This is done for three to four days or util they have about 10 million stem cells. It takes about 3 million stem cells for each transplant so the extra ones will be frozen and be saved if he needs any future transplants. Then we will come home and he will rest for ten days. Then we will return for one month for the transplant.
I will blog more about the transplant as we get to it. I will give you a peek into some information they gave us. It will be important to have a very special diet during and after transplant. At the beginning of the transplant, they give him high doses of chemo that will kill off all his bad cells and, sadly, his good ones too. So, with this in mind, they stress the IMPORTANCE of an immunosuppressed diet for 100 days after wards. the CAUTION that you have to take is amazing. This is where I will have to hit the 'shuffle' button again.
Here are a few ideas about his new eating habits : If the public has access to it, DON'T use it. Can't use the fresh meat sliced at the deli, or the chesses. Everything has to be pre-sealed, vacumned packed. You can not risk ANYTHING that might be a risk of food-borne illness. He is limited on not cheeses such as blue cheese or roquefort, that has been made with molds. No more soft, over easy eggs for him.. No more rare meats, or non-pasteurized egg substitutes. No fresh salsa, no pre-cut fruits or veggies, no more buying the fruit trays for a while. He won't be able to even eat soft served ice cream beause you never know when or how the machine was properly cleaned. The food needs to be processed well. He can have breads and bagels. BUT the important thing I have to remember is that he will NOT feel like eating. He is most likely to have blisters in his mouth. What he does put in his mouth has to be of the highest benefit to him. I hope he will make friends with ENSURE drinks and protein shakes/smoothies. AGAIN,....it's time for another 'shuffle'.
The wonderful thing about this journey is that we are not alone. There is an amazing,well-trained medical staff ready 24/7 to be there for us. Not only the Doctors, but nurses, phycial thearapist, nurtritionist, music therapy, cooking classes, group fitness classes, massage, and the list continues.
Change: (noun): the act or instance of making or becoming different.
That is what CANCER does to everyone involved......
Thanks for taking this journey with us. ........ to be continued......
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