Month: April 2016

Kristine has declared that Scott has engrafted! After three days with a level of 0.4, yesterday his neuts were 0.5, which indicates that the donor cells have found their way to the narrow and have started produce more stem cells. Huzzah! Always up for a challenge, I'm not surprised Scott made this happen on the… Continue reading Day +15

The transplant ward is abuzz with rumours that engraftment may be near for Scott. For the last three days his neut count has been holding at 0.4, which is an early indication of engraftment as it signals that the marrow has started to produce the 'good stuff'. But as I write this, Kristine in her… Continue reading Day +13

I just want to reassure everyone reading this that all the ailments Scott is currently struggling with are typical and expected. We were warned it would be awful, and it is, but things will turn around eventually. Scott's mucusitis is bad, and has extended to his throat making even speaking painful, forget eating and drinking.… Continue reading Day +11

It's still surprising to me how quickly things change; a mere three days since my last post, and Scott's routine looks much different. I provide this update from second hand experience as schnuggling a baby down with the flu has meant I have been unable to be at the hospital with Scott since Friday afternoon.… Continue reading Day +8

All things considered, today has been pretty good so far. Thanks to some antibiotics, the infected area on Scott's head seems to be getting better, causing him less pain and allowing him to rest a bit more comfortably. Same goes for his infected thumb, which was quite swollen yesterday. His counts have really taken a… Continue reading Day +5

So far today has not been kind to our dear Scott. Having bottomed out, his body is feeling very sore, weak, and restless. A swollen bump on the back of his head (similar to the lump he had in his armpit during round1 and his knee during consolidation), is preventing him from resting his head… Continue reading Day +3

Scott's first night with the new cells was uneventful, which around here is a good thing. I'll be honest, I expected some tears (aside from my own), hugs, maybe an extremely rare (as in I've never heard it said) 'I Love you' between brothers during the transplant itself. Umm, no. Boiled down (though not much)… Continue reading Day +1

And we're off! While the transfusion itself is a straightforward enough process and as predicted fairly anticlimactic, this room is charged with complex feelings. We're grateful that Jeff's cells are robust and healthy, relieved that Scott's body hasn't immediately rejected them and optimistic that their close typing will mean a smooth recovery. 'Day Zero' marks… Continue reading Happy Birthday Scott

Here they are - the stem cells that will get Scott cancer free!   They will be harvested overnight, and prepped for transfusion. Jeff will return tomorrow morning for one more Pheresis, which will top up what he provided today. It's been another bunnydryl'd day,but Scott has finished up his radiation and will be moved into… Continue reading Check out those stem cells

Bright and early this morning Jeff checked into the hospital's Oncology Day Services ward where over the course of the next 6 hours his stem cells will be collected and prepared for tomorrow's transfusion. Here's a video of the machine working away separating out the stem cells from his blood. Jeffs blood is being drawn… Continue reading Pretty impressive stuff going on here.