patients will experience an allergic reaction, fever, and nausea. I
experienced none of these symptoms. There was quite a group in here during
the procedure. My nurse Amy set up all the IVs, gave me all the premeds,
which I mentioned yesterday, monitored my vital signs, and actually did the
infusion of the marrow cells into my Hickman. Several other staff were in
the room to observe and be ready in case of an emergency. My mom, Michelle,
Denise Haisch, and Ken Gosteli watched the whole process. Michael Kuo, very
cool guy,
delivered the frozen
marrow cells at 12:00 sharp. Michael drove the cells over from the cryogenics lab at Fred Hutch where they have been
stored since February of 1995. Pretty amazing. The cells came in two IV
bags and were kept frozen in liquid nitrogen. Right before they gave me the
cells they thawed them out in a warm bath which Michael brought along. It
took about 45 minutes for the whole procedure. After the cells were infused
Michael told me "Happy Birthday". That was pretty emotional. I now have
cancer driven out of my body through chemo and radiation and have been given
new, clean marrow. I am now a cancer free man. Thank you Lord.
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. I just stayed in bed while
they monitored my vital signs (body temp, pulse, blood pressure) every hour
to be sure I didn't have a reaction to the marrow cells. Receiving my own
marrow cells, made the whole procedure less risky. Using your own cells is
called an Autologous Transplant.
I felt very good for the rest of the day until evening came. Due to the
radiation the mucous linings of my GI tract (Throat, Esophagus, Small and
Large Intestines) are beginning to break down and the whole tract is burned raw. It is called Mucositis. It happens to all transplant patients who have TBI (Total Body Radiation). The doctor told me to expect it and said it would be very painful. The only thing I can do is take strong pain medicine such as Morphine until the GI tract heals. The only cure for mucositis is to have the blood cell counts return to normal. Since it will take about 21 days for my blood counts to return to normal, I will most likely struggle
with mucositis this whole time.
Most of my fluids and my food will be given to me through the
Hickman port. Sounds pretty tasty.I got a great e-mail from my sister-in-law, Jennifer. My niece, Madison
(6), is telling all her friends to pray for me. One of her friends said, "Is
your Uncle John in the hospital because he is dying of cancer?" Without
missing a beat, Madison responded, "No. My uncle is in the hospital because his cancer is dying! " I was really touched by that.
The rest of today will probably be spent resting and coming up with an
effective treatment regimen for my mucositis. I think the next few weeks are going to be the toughest. Please keep the prayers and support coming.My mother-in-law, Pat, sent me a card yesterday. I liked what it said: "Sometimes the Lord calms the storm; sometimes He lets the storm rage and calms His child." I need some calming right now.