...because sometimes someone has to be a part-time thinker!
Well, it looks like I am one of those Guest Editor's Picks. Thanks, Deb. I am honored to be mentioned alongside such great journals. Go and check them out. And check out Deb's journal too, it's fantastic.
Well, that's about it, not feeling too verbose tonight, lol.
Love ya'll, Krissy :)
When I first got these pictures back, I couldn't bear to look at them. All I wanted to do was cry. Especially the ones where he was getting chemo, like in the one above. He looks so weak to me. But John asked me to include them in my journal as a record of his experience of getting the bone marrow transplant. So I am going to include a few.
Chemo was really rough on John. When you receive chemo for a bone marrow transplant, it is no light dose. It is an extra high concentration. John received it for five days, then got two days off before he had his transplant. With each day of chemo he got sicker and sicker. But you know, he was a real trooper. He would take his pole that he was attached to and walk the halls every day! He did not stay in his pagamas, he would get dressed every day! As many days as he could he would get out of the bed and sit in his chair instead of laying down. On the second day, before he became too ill, he was out walking the hall, and the nurses asked him to help decorate for Valentine's Day,lol! So he helped out. He was helping them put hearts everywhere! When I found this out, I was just thrilled. While others on the ward were in bed, my John was up decorating. He is such a trooper! His doctor kept referring to him as the "Star Patient".
Well, after day five he was finally pretty wiped out from the chemo. He also lost 20 lbs since he started chemo. Right before chemo, he had lost 11 lbs. That was a net loss of 31 lbs. And it showed. Here is a pic of John after finishing chemo, resting up to receive his transplant. :
Now, I don't have any pictures of the actual transplant. It seemed somehow, well, too sacred to take pictures of. Ididn't want to be in the way snapping photos either. And yes, they DID let me be there! It was done right in his hospital room. There were just four of us. John, me, Dr. Claxton, and Margaret the nurse. It was sterile. We all wore masks. But I was allowed to hold John's hand. And the transplant was painful for him. I mean physically. He shook violently. This is something called FLUSHING. He had to be given Demarol to make the flushing stop. I didn't get too scared, I guess I figured the oncologist knew what he was doing. But it was very painful to watch.
I snapped this pic on transplant day. :
Well, I guess that is enough pics. I wanted to end on a positive note. I asked John what I should say was positive at this time. This is what he came up with.:
He is glad he had a transplant as it saved his life. He will be forever grateful.
He got his second Mixed Chimerism test back. A Mixed Chimerism test shows how much of your stem cells are your donors. He got a score of 95% donor cells! This is almost unheard of after two months. He is doing fantastically, praise the Lord!
He is thankful that he only has to go to "Day Hospital" once a week now. If he hadn't gotten down to once a week, we would still be living in Hershey near the Transplant Center. We do have to make a five hour round trip to the Treatment Center once a week, but at least we are at home!!!
And finally, he pondered and said, "Aside from being a little tired, I'm feeling good."
So be it John, so be it.
We are home!!! We are home!!! We are home!!!
Wow it feels great to be home! John and I arrived here Sunday. As we pulled up the driveway I almost cried. There is so much freedom being in your own town, in your own home. Sleeping in your own bed with your own little kitten (uhmm, actually Michael's 21 lbs., lol). And there is nothing else like being near my sweet family again. And having my own computer again! What heaven! There were so many things I took for granted that I never will again.
I think that the most important thing about being home is that it reminds me that I can begin to live my life normally again. And so can John. He still has a long recovery ahead of him, but the chemo and the bone marrow transplant are behind him. Oh, and the chemo and the transplant were soooo difficult. So hard on him in some ways. Hard for me in some ways too. Of course it wasn't as hard on me as it was for him, but it got difficult at times.
But I am so grateful he had this second chance at life. If he hadn't have had the transplant, he would have died within a few years. Maybe within a year. Gosh, I can't begin to fathom why God allowed him to live, while others don't make it. All I can say is He has his ways. And I praise Him that He let my John live.
On that note, I gotta run. I will do another entry soon, and in it I'll show you all some pics of John while he was in the Treatment Center. At first I didn't want to add them to the journal, I thought they were too painful, but John asked me to add them, because he said they are part of the experience, and he wanted it documented. I could never refuse that man anything, lol...
Krissy :)
Hey ya'll. It has been a long time. I finally am ready to update this journal. As most of you know, I have been away in Hershey, PA with my husband while he got a bone marrow (stem cell) transplant for the bone marrow cancer he had. Well, we are still here, but we are hoping to be able to come home soon. I don't know how much longer it is going to be. He is getting treated for Graft Verses Host Disease. Graft Verses Host Disease is when the donor rejects the person who received the transplant. But John doesn't have GVHD too severely. Actually, John is doing quite well. So hopefully we will be able to come home soon.
I am so thankful that John got this second chance at life. Without it he would not have made it. It really looks like he is going to make it. Please continue to pray for him. Thanks. :)
I will give more of an update at a later time, and add some pictures.
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