Stem Cell Collection Started Today

The Neupogen did its magic, so that I was able to begin aphoresis, or stem cell collection, today. I am eager because the sooner I am done with this process, the sooner I can stop taking Neupogen. Neupogen is causing me some bone pain as well as weakening me such that I sleep much of the day. Aphoresis should take only 3 hours, but my ports were clogged. So it took me 7 hours. I could have done it with a clogged port, if I were able to lay perfectly still on my side for 3 hours. But bone pain made that nearly impossible. (I forgot to bring the pain pills from home.) Eventually, since I did have an Ativan or two, I was able to be still. But they decided to unclog my port, which added the extra time. Six hours later and I was finally done.

The nurses were very kind, through all of this. There was a man next to me, getting the same procedure, who kept everyone laughing with his Texas talk. I bonded especially with a Vietnamese nurse named Tran. She was wonderful, kept telling me the clog was not my fault. Just one of those things.

They had little televisions to keep you occupied, though I tried to read the book I found in the library that was acceptable to me, Sideways. Yes, it's the novel that inspired the movie. I'm enjoying it, but cannot read long without falling asleep. In this case, falling asleep would have helped, but I kept waking up from the pain.

Kirk was a real life-saver, since he rubbed the places that hurt. It did help. He also brought food, though I wasn't all that hungry. However, it forced me to eat and get my body out of a low sugar state.

When I left, I was freezing. Could not stop shivering. They say the injected meds do that because they are not at body temp.

Needless to say, tomorrow should be better, since I'll come armed with my pain pills and warm clothes. I am taking the pain pills now and it is diminishing the pain. Without pain pills, the bone pain is very bad. Similar to pains I had giving birth.

Pictures tomorrow.

Jacob will be here any minute. I'm so excited to see him. He is such a sweet boy. And I love him so much.