Rest before the busy...

Yesterday we stayed in and rested.  Put together a puzzle, ate some yummy chocolates a friend gave me, watched the news.

Todays Schedule:

12:30 (drop of some paperwork)

1:00 (tour of the stem cell procedure next time so I know where to go/what to expect)

2:30 (exam with Dr. Burt where we will go over everything from Monday and he will test me strength, reflexes...etc)

Dr. Burt, Blood Center, Friend!

I met with Dr. Burt.  He gave me his final warnings: he's done HSCT for 68 CIDP patients, and 200 other autoimmune diseases.  His warnings were, he hasn't had anyone die from this but it's still a possibility, I could become sterile and not be able to have more children, I will lose my hair, but it will grow back.  In the next breath he said, not to count on the transplant as a form of birth control and that he wouldn't pay for my child's college education if I were to get pregnant.  ;)

He asked if I or Jesse (who's at home) had any questions or concerns about the transplant or process.  He then grabbed my hand and told me that he's going take great care of me and not to worry.

His nurse, Paula, stayed back for a few minutes to discuss everything else (prescription pickups, forms that I filled out, test results from Monday, etc.)

I also went on a tour where I will have my stem cells harvested.  

The best part of the day was finally meeting a fellow transplant sister, Kristan.  She also has two little boys the same age as David & Daniel.  We've been texting with a few other ladies for several weeks now.  A blessing to have a stranger become a friend during this crazy journey of getting my life back.

Testing Day!

Today was testing day.  Started with a pulmonary function test which checked my lungs for strength.

Super attractive. 

Then, I had an ECHO done on my heart.  They had to put an IV in my arm to make sure my heart didn't have any holes or strange leakage.  Yay!!!  No heart holes.

We left the IV in for my MRI as they had to do it with and without contrast.  The MRI was very long, almost 2 hours.  

Next stop was a chest X-ray.

And then we ended the day with the largest blood draw of my life.  34 vials of blood!

I was famished so we walked to our dinner at Giardanos pizza.  Mmmm so good.

Tomorrow, I rest.

Pretesting Week

I'm in Chicago, at the Marriott Residence Inn (my home away from home for the next 2 months).

Pretesting Week begins tomorrow with a very busy day.

9:30 - Pulmonary Function Test

10:45 - 2D Echo

Lunch

1:30 - MRI of my spine

Then a Chest X Ray and lots of Blood work.

We are doing all of these tests to make sure my body can handle the stress of the transplant.  I'm expecting to pass with flying colors.  :)

Last Night Home with the Boys

Last night home with the boys has been rough. Cuddling Daniel before bed, my heart aches for the times I'm going to miss. As I said goodnight to David, he started crying and said he didn't want me to go to Chicago. I hugged him and reminded him that mommy needs to get better and going to Chicago will get me better. These little boys. My heart. This is the hard part.

2 more sleeps until Chicago.

One week...

One week until this journey begins.  So many feelings: fear, sadness, excitement, anticipation, anxiety.

Leaving the boys will be the hardest thing I ever do.  It isn't meant for the mom to disappear for days, in this case weeks.

I know that the end goal will be worth all the lost time.  It will still hurt though.  My heart already aches for them and the hugs I will miss.

One week!!!