Well, we are + 2 days now. Everything now will be a count up to 100 (and then some). The first 100 days is very important though.
The second half of the transplant was NOT a fun process. It was very unfortunate that it had to be broken up like it did. The change over on the nurses staff and the all day event that it became was just not a good mix. I just LOVE the fact that everyone... and I mean everyone told us that the infusion was SOOOO easy. That it was the easy part of a bone marrow transplant. (although it could very well end up being that way) The brochure stated that this would be quick... like getting a blood transfusion. Well, it was not! Yes, it runs like a blood transfusion, but that is where the similarities end. This took a total of 12 hours! I told the nurse that I didn't know of any major organ transplants that took as long as 12 hours. She agreed! She said her father had a heart transplant the day before (true story) and it only took 10 hours. Sorry but WTF? So, the transplant finished about 3:00am Christmas day. Now... in theory... Alex will have a 3rd birthday. After the marrow finishes infusing they put saline into the bag and they call it "licking the bowl." They want to make sure they get every last cell they can. It's very strange... there are fatty cells that are present in the bag also and they have to be rubbed and broken up. They leave no cells behind. The process was a lot more stressful than the first bag, which seemed to go so smoothly although lengthy. Alex's heart rate kept going really low... in the mid to low 40s... and her blood pressure was gradually increasing as well. It was very stressful for all. The nurse could not leave the I.V. pole but her vitals needed to be done. If the nurse left the IV pole to take her vitals the infusion quit dripping... I felt bad for the nurse, who did not get a break or was able to leave the room for over 5 hours! No lie. At least she didn't have another patient that night. In all... I have to say... I thought the process was not taken as seriously as I thought it would be. Alex stayed awake this whole time. She was so tired and nervous. As soon as it was complete she threw up an entire pink bucket full of who knows what? She hadn't eaten a thing all day. I think it was a pink bucket full of adrenaline. We were all really glad to have it over. It was a very emotional day, filled with hope and fear.
Alex has been feeling pretty bad. She will get worse before she starts to improve. That is just the nature of getting a bone marrow transplant. I do hope they get her nausea issues ironed out so she only has to deal with the other garbage she is dealing with. Yesterday she was sick ALL DAY! She threw up everything and things she hadn't even eaten yet. She was in and out of it most of the day. But sleeping is far better than being awake and miserable.
Today Alex is feeling much better in the terms of nausea. She is still in a lot of pain and has been on morphine all day. Still no morphine pump. She is scheduled to get platelets today at some point. They told us that this morning and it's now 3pm and they still haven't showed up. I am sure they will at some point. At least Alex has been awake all day. We are watching the Blues Brothers now... and she is actually laughing. So that is a good sign :)
Well, that's about it to report on. I just knew that a lot of people were wondering how things were going since the transplant so I thought I would update everyone.
I hope everyone had a great Christmas. For me, it was kind of a blur. I'm not really into the holidays all that much, so I didn't feel like we were missing out on anything. I am glad the crowds will disperse a bit. If only spring would come with the closing of the holidays. That would give me a big, warm fuzzy! :o)
Thanks so much for being here everyone! I will update more in a day or so with new photos.
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