Day +1

My first day with the new cells. Hmm, I don't feel like Ray yet...

Things went pretty well yesterday. Ray spent most of the day in apheresis (the process of getting his cells collected) and reached the right count around 4pm. The transplant to me didn't start until about 7pm, and it only took an hour. There were some pre-meds beforehand to counter or control an allergic reaction, and some meds afterward because I did get the chills/shakes quite badly followed by a low-grade fever. All in all, from beginning to end the whole thing took about 2.5 hours. It's still pretty weird knowing that Ray and I were different blood types and after his cells "take", I will go from being blood type O to A. When I got the chills & shakes, the Charge Nurse, also known as the nurse in charge  :), said "Well, we did just infuse you with an incompatible blood type..." This is pretty weird shit alright!

The fever was gone by bedtime and I actually had a really good sleep. This morning, I feel fine. They say Days +1 to +3 (transplant day is Day 0) are surprisingly uneventful, which I find kind of strange,  and things start to get dicey in the next couple of weeks as they lower my immune system to accept the new cells and my body sorts things out. But for now, Wayne and I are celebrating that we have this opportunity, made it to transplant day without a relapse, and things so far have gone really well.

My appetite is not great and it's a bit of a struggle to figure out what to try to eat everyday. I know I need the calories, and Wayne, as always, offers to go out and get "anything I want". So I've sent him out to get food where the thought of it doesn't turn my stomach, only for it to arrive in front of me and I have to push it away like a finicky cat. I haven't lost too much weight yet, and as long as something doesn't make me gag, I will try to force at least a little bit of it down. There are the meal-replacement drinks, but I don't want to have them actually replace a meal three times a day.

I'm crossing my fingers that I can get out of the hospital today for a few hours on a day-pass and spend some time at home. Unfortunately, socializing probably isn't in the cards for a while. Prevention is a key focus right now and we're doing everything we can to prevent or minimize some of those undesired side-effects and possibility of infection.

Stay tuned to The Hotline for more updates.