Tomorrow George & I are heading up to San Francisco again. We want to be ready to start the Stem Cell Collection process bright and early Monday morning. On Monday they measure the count of stem cells in my blood. If there are not enough, they will give me a "booster" shot to get my bone marrow producing! Also on Monday they "install" the catheter tubes on either side of my neck. One bit of advice I got from another Stem Cell Transplant (SCT) patient was to wear a scarf around my neck because I'll look a bit like Frankenstein!
Then on the next days, my blood will be drawn out (not all at once), centrifuged, the stem cells removed, and the rest of the blood put back into my body. It could take one day, or as many as four days. Usually it takes two days. They take enough stem cells for two transplants and keep them frozen until I need them again.
I hope to be back in town by Thursday or Friday. I have a few specific prayer items. George is missing a lot of work. We are thankful that Valerie works at the office, but it is hard when he is absent. My neuropathy has become quite painful. I should recover from this side-effect, but I hope it is sooner rather than later! A big thank you to all of you who are praying - you are so encouraging to me.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Stem Cell Harvest
Posted by Susan at 8:18 PM
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2 comments:
Susan, thank you for sharing the prayer requests. We will pray for George's work, Valerie at the office, your pain management and everything else. Of course we know that God knows the "everything else"! Love and prayers, Janice
You are in my thoughts and prayers. How is it going?
Debbie Bryan
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