Mission Impossible? No! Mission COMPLETE!!!

Not for the squeamish.

Shots are done!!!!

I never thought I'd say this, thank you Jason, for stabbing me every morning, twice, and reminding me to breathe.

This morning I had my blood drawn to test for my stem cell count as well as my CBC, calcium, potassium...etc.  If I'm low on anything, they will give me something to boost it.  They estimated 40 million, I only need 2 million for transplant.

We ate some breakfast, thank you Dunkin Donuts.  Then we lounged around until about 10:30, then went back to the blood center for the long stay today.

The nurse said she expected me to finish today, which means this lovely new piece of jewelry gets to come out before heading back to the hotel!

This vas catheter had to be put in by a surgeon, under local anesthetic, in an operating room.  

They took X-rays, and did ultrasounds to find the right spot.  Then they gave a few shots to numb the area.  They then made a small incision and inserted the catheter to my heart.  This movement was very forceful and caused some heart flutters which felt really strange.  Once they got it in place, they secured it with two stitches on my neck and covered it all up.

Next, I got hooked up to my friend for the day.

My blood was literally pulled from body, pushed through this machine, and sorted out.  The plasma and stem cells were stored for transplant and the red blood cells were then warmed back up and given back to me.  

At the end of the very long day, I collected 19 million stem cells!  More than enough to help me heal after the chemo for transplant.

All of those machines for little me. :)

This mission started with chemo last Monday, and ended with Harvest today.  Lots of pain inbetween.  Glad to be done with this leg of the journey.  

Next stop, HOME TO BOYS!!!

Rest Day & Harvest

Today was a chill out, rest, get some work done from my chair kind of day.  My body is working overtime making these stem cells move from one zip code to another.  Tomorrow is Harvest!

We start the day early with the last of my neupogen shots.  Then we head to the hospital to have the vas catheter put in my neck.  They will numb the area and put it in far enough to reach my heart.

Next, we head to the blood center where they will draw my blood to get an estimate of how many millions of stem cells they think we will collect.

I'll then by hooked up to a big machine that will separate and collect my plasma in one bag and my stem cells in another. I won't be able to get up the entire day.  Which means, potty time has to be done via a chair commode.

If all goes according to plan, I'll have the vascath removed tomorrow evening.

My Platelets were UP!!!

I spoke with my nurse, Kaitlyn, around 3:00 and she told me that my platelets were up to an acceptable range which means I can take ibuprofen for the pain!!!  So now every 3 hours, I can take tylenol or ibuprofen to keep the pain manageable.  :)  SOOOOO MUCH BETTER!!!

2 more days of shots.  Thursday is Harvest!

Bone Pain, it's REAL!!!

Thankful for the prayers.  It was a rough night and continues to be a rough day.  2 more days of shots to go then we harvest these bad boys that are causing me so much pain.  This part is almost over.  Trying to look ahead to the end goal...no more CIDP!

Neutropenic, Blood Draw, Friends, Wig

Today I am officially neutropenic.  That means that my white blood cell level is too low to count.  

I had a blood draw this morning to see what my levels are.

I also got to meet up with one of my HSCT sisters.  There's a group of us going through this process at about the same time.  So we've been chatting for several weeks now.  Today, I got to sit with Erin for a bit and chat.  :)

Then I got a phone call to go for a wig fitting!  So I said goodbye and trucked myself down to meet her.  They have a very special program here for women and  I got this lovely wig for free!

After all of that, I was exhausted.  So Jason and I made our way back to our room so I could relax without gloves and a mask on.

Later, he went out and got us some yummy cupcakes at a local bakery called Sprinkles.  They have a cupcake ATM!!!  Pure genius.

Now we are in for the night.  We've been working on this puzzle to try to help pass the time.  

Tomorrow will be day 4 of the neupogen shots.  Thankful for them and the job they are doing but also ready to be done with this part.  

Five more sleeps until cuddles with my boys!!!  

Neupogen Shots

Coming into this adventure, I knew that I had to get shots 6 mornings in a row in order to get the stem cells from my bone marrow into blood stream.  I fully expected to stick myself with no problem.  Boy was I wrong.  Jason (my brother), had to stick me.  I couldn't do it.

It's funny to me.  I get stuck all the time with needles, but I couldn't make myself inject the needle into my stomach.

Two syringes, and some very lengthy directions.

We are on day 2 of 4.  As of tonight, I'm officially neutropenic (white blood cell count is too low to count).  Masks and gloves are now required for any outing.  Tomorrow, we will go to the 18th floor of Galter, and get my labs run.  They will be testing to see how the neupogen shots are working and will be able to get an estimate of how many millions I will harvest on Thursday.

Always thankful for this opportunity to get better.  However, home sickness has settled in.  I miss my boys. 

Fly, Hotel, Hospital, Chemo, Nausea, Drugs, Hotel

Sunday, Jason and I flew into Chicago to begin this journey.

Monday morning I was admitted to Prentice Women's Hospital for my first dose of chemo.  

(Waiting to be admitted)

(Go Go Anti Nausea Wrist Bands)

(The chemo and all the drugs)

The view from my room was beautiful.

(Lake Michigan)

I was supposed to be released to the hotel on Tuesday, however, the nausea took hold and I required lots more IV anti nausea Meds.  So I opted to stay an extra night to make sure I stopped the nausea & vomiting.

(My room)

They encouraged me to go walking around the unit to keep my muscles working and blood flowing.  It gets hot underneath all that.

This is Erin.  She was one of my sweet nurses.  She took great care of me.

Now, I rest.  I also have gotten my female "monthly friend" on top of it all.  So my pain level is pretty high right now.  

Please continue to pray for this process, my body to stay strong and heal from the chemo.

Tomorrow is Mobilization

The Process
Simply stated, Rachelle is getting chemo. She will experience many of the side-effects you know about, including losing her hair.

Rachelle's body is stimulated to produce the type of stem-cells that will later help her heal. A single dose of chemo is used to get the production of stem-cells going.

She will have several days to rest and heal from the chemo before she begins giving herself sub-q injections of neupogen.  These shots tell the bone marrow to release the stem cells into her blood stream.  After giving her body a week to produce as many stem cells as possible, the "stemmies" are harvested by filtering her blood through a machine. Her stem-cells are then purified, frozen and stored until the transplant in a few weeks.

Side effects to be praying about:
-all the pain chemo causes (if you don't know, Google it),
-the pain that the neupogen shots cause (it feels like growing pains from childhood, only worse),
-to extract the stem cells a catheter will be placed in Rachelle's neck that will lead directly to her heart.

Pretesting Week - DONE!!!

I just finished my last appointment for the week.  I had an EMG and NCV test today.  These test the velocity of my nerves and the strength of my muscles.  Imagine yourself being electrocuted and you have an idea what these tests feel like.

I then met with Dr. Allen, the neurologist for the CIDP trials, he said my results from today showed that my nerves aren't any worse from those taken in December.  So that's a good thing.  We've been able to keep the CIDP from getting worse, but it's not getting any better either.

So now I head back to Baltimore.  While I've been here in Chicago, my city has been going through some struggles.  I pray that the protests remain peaceful, that the National Guard will be able to leave soon and that peace will remain.

I will be spending almost every day with the boys until I leave next Sunday, the 11th, to come back for mobilization and harvest.  

More Blessings

Today, Jonathan and I splurged on a movie.  One of his coworkers sent him money for us to go do something fun.  A person I've never met, wanted to bless us.  People are amazing!

We went to see Insurgent.

And sat the most comfy chairs ever!

We had a great time.

I'm also thankful for the very rare opportunity I had to spend time with my brother.  We talked, laughed and had a great time catching up.  I had originally planned to this trip on my own, I'm glad that he suggested coming.  It made the trip a lot easier.  Love you bro!