The 15th and 16th of this month blend together in my mind as hospitalization routine for Doug (and me).
Doug has had engaging conversations with the medical team that has cared for him during his stay in the hospital. On the 17th when he was discharged to my care at home the discharge nurse said, “All of us want to know where you found such a kind man?” I smiled and told him it had taken me 40 years to train him and I wasn’t interested in training in another one!
Seriously it makes me proud to hear his care-givers in the hospital refer to him as kind considering the type of pain he had to cope with and how cruddy he felt over all. Just this week a relative (young adult) wrote that she felt Doug was the kindest man she knew and wished him full recovery. His kind way with me was one of the reasons I was attracted to him 40 years ago!
Doug slept most of the afternoon Saturday. Kristi was with us for the last time this trip and when she kissed us goodbye told us that she’d try to save up enough money to come back every three months or so. She loves Seattle and brought us a table top book of the city so she could point out to us the areas visually she talks about: where she lives, the area overlooking Lake Washington where she works, the dog park that she loves to hang out at with friends and their pooches. Of special interest is a view of the city that includes the hospital where Doug was born.
Saturday evening Doug’s temperature began its journey upward. Because he was feeling so weak and sweating abnormally he called the on-call doctor. His fever was 1/10 of a point from where he’d have to call the on-call team anyway. The on-call physician who had treated Doug in the hospital frequently gave us a new medication regimen to try and we were able to avert a trip back to the ER and the hospital.
As I write it is Sunday, the 18th. I checked on Doug throughout the night last night and administered his pain meds as scheduled, gave him a Popsicle and filled an ice bag for his head.
We went to the clinic this morning. Doug had the usual vital signs taken, his daily Neupogen injection, and blood draw. The nurse practitioner listened to his lungs and spent a lot of time talking with us alleviating my concerns about the “new normal”.
The chemo nurse drew a vial of Doug’s blood specifically for the “C34” test which she sent to the Carter Blood Care group today. They will evaluate the number of stem cells therein. We will receive word in the morning whether or not Doug will begin the stem cell harvest tomorrow or just go in for another injection. The team is optimistic and feels that Doug’s cells will be ready to begin the harvesting process tomorrow. If so, Carter Blood Care will bring the machine to the clinic. We are told collection is a boring process with little to no side effects.
The stem cells will be protected in dry ice from the “sledge hammer” chemo he’ll receive potentially late this week. When they are returned back into Doug’s system they will be “happy” and absorbed more readily to the bone marrow because they have not been damaged by the chemo. This will make Doug’s final recovery easier.
NEWS FLASH
At 1:30 p.m. I received a call on my cell phone from the weekend transplant coordinator for Dr. Collin’s team. She had just received the results back from the Carter Blood Care group re: the
C-34 test taken at 10 a.m. this morning. Doug is defiantly ready for collection tomorrow. We need to be at the clinic at 8 a.m. and plan to be there for 6 hours.
The most amazing thing is that when I asked about the C-34 she told me they begin collection anytime after the number 10 (which I have no idea if its 10 parts/?? –I’ll have to get back to you on that). Doug’s number is 412! I went into where Doug is and gave him the "high five". We are both excited to get to this next level of treatment.
It will be interesting how many days of collection it will take before they have enough for 2 infusions, one for now and one stored for future use should that be needed before Jesus comes and makes Doug’s body new.
~Carole
