SCT Day One: Chemo on Ice

So it begins.

I went to bed last night at about 11 PM. I stared at the ceiling until 12:30 AM. Then I got up and went downstairs to roam the DIRECTV guide.  Stumbled onto "Columbo" on Sundance.  Ahh, comfort food TV.  Five minutes of “One other question…”  Five minutes of commercials.  But I’m just trying to get tired.  Now it’s 2:30 AM.

I head back to bed, hoping I can make myself tired and stop thinking about “chemo” and “stem cells”. 

Stare at the ceiling again until 3:45 AM, wandering the interwebs.   Then I headed downstairs to do some dishes, eat some food, and wait for my alarm to go off at 4:30 AM.

Took a Lyft to the hospital, get there by 6 AM and we arrive right on time.  I checked right in and the nurse says “Let’s get you hooked up.”  Things don’t usually work that quickly in hospitals and clinics. Nice.

This area of the hospital is made up of 30 or so bone marrow transplant rooms.  They have their own air system.  If we open our door air flows into the hallway, not the other way around.  They can get my cooties.  I don’t get theirs. That's good I guess. 

Nancy and I order some breakfast as I get the first of a bunch of saline drip bags.  Passable scrambled eggs, hash browns, and bacon for me; omelet with cheese, plus hash browns for Nancy.  Chemo is scheduled for around 10:30 AM, and they want to load me up with fluids until then. 

Are we done yet?

At 10:00 AM they start me with “Cold Therapy”.  I chew on dice-sized ice cubes for half an hour before the chemo.  This is hopefully helping me avoid mouth sores.  The ice chewing will make blood vessels in my mouth shrink, keeping the chemo from invading.  There’s a sheet that explains this “Cold Therapy”.  It actually says, "cold therapy can make you feel cold.’  Really? Go figure. 

I’ll be getting Melphalan.  A big dose.  Big enough to go half a century into the past, eliminating not just all white blood cells, but all past childhood immunizations as well. 

The chemo gets loaded into my handy chest tube.  It goes quickly.  I continue chewing the ice. And I chew for another two hours afterwards.  I had a vanilla flavored ice cream cup in the middle just for a change of pace. 

Nancy was going to head home, to get some stuff done.  At this time, I’m thinking, ok at 1:30 PM I'll be done with ice chewing and I can get a nap.  Nope.  My handler here at the hospital will talk to the two of us about "after care".   That's what’s going to happen the first thirty days, the next thirty, and the next thirty.

The First 30

• Stay away from people and their assorted ills.
• Use a soft manual toothbrush (I think all manuals are soft, but that’s just me)
• No floss, no dental work
• Avoid crowded places

The Next 30

• No touching dirt. Dirt has mold.
• No touching Chloe’s feet. She walks in dirt.  Dirt has mold.
• No mowing, raking, vacuuming, potting plants, watering plants, dusting, cleaning toilets, swimming, smoking, or home remodeling.
• Avoid sandboxes, beaches, swimming pools, hot tubs, bonfires, moldy places, cruise ships, construction sites, and crowded places.
• Don’t go near birds, reptiles or farm animals.

Follow that with some Occupational Therapy. But remember that the fractured vertebrae in my back makes me susceptible to fracturing.

About 3 PM I start to get hungry and order some chicken pasta with marinara, a side of salad, and cottage cheese. 

I’m writing this at 8:45 PM and I’m still not hungry.  But they have sandwiches and snacks in a fridge just outside my door in case I do get hungry again.

And the last bag of saline is dripping away.  I wish I would have counted them.   

That will be it for the chemo and tomorrow at 11:30 AM I get my stem cells back.

Apparently once back inside me, they start wandering around in the blood stream.  They’ll notice there are no white blood cells.  And then they’ll slowly, magically, turn themselves into white blood cells, and begin to protect me from the world.

Comments

[Cori]

I love you.

[Louise]

As I'm reading this, I'm thinking you haven't slept in well over 24 hours. Thanks for the update, Dan, and I hope you are getting some rest. Dave and I are thinking of you and praying for you. Love you.

[Patrick]

Wow.. thank you for sharing these details. Stay strong and you know you can rely on me up here for anything you need. I know it will be hard to stay away from the vacuum and cleaning those bathrooms but do your best.

[Karla]

You're going through a lot, as are your little stem cells. I hope that you're able to get some rest and let those amazing little stem cells do their magic. We are here for you in any way you need us to be...here or there. Just say the word. Thank you to Nancy for taking such wonderful care of you and for keeping us informed as to how things are going. We love you and are here for you both.

[Sara Martinson]

Hopefully the stem cell therapy will work well for you. You have a great way of writing about your experiences, but wishing this wasn’t one of them. Take care and get well soon. Love you cousin ❤️ ( Jimmy had a stem cell transplant a few years ago and it went well, just a little encouragement.)

[Colleen]

Sending all our love and encouragement your way brother!! ❤❤❤
We are here for you and Nancy if you ever need us for anything! Stay strong!

[Diane Fitzgerald]

As I’m reading your experience with stem cell transplant, so many thoughts are going through my head - Boy, Dan looks great, I hope this works for him; Dan is such a great writer, I hope this works; Isn’t science amazing? I sure hope this works; so many restrictions. I pray this will work; Dan has amazing strength! This is going to work! I’ll continue to pray for your health, your strength, and your family. You’ve got this, Dan!!

[Mary Wiseman]

Dan -
I’m thinking of and praying for you.
I’m a breast cancer survivor and had chemo treatments for 1 1/2 years. (Before I worked at CBS Radio.) Please buy some L-Lysine (over the counter at any pharmacy.) It’s an amino acid that prevents mouth sores!! I swear by it!!
Blessings to Nancy and you!
Mary ❤️

[Kevin Giersdorf]

Dan. I am sorry you have to go through this but I want you to know I have been praying for you. It sounds like they are taking good care of you and they know what they are doing. I think of you often, especially lately. I wish you strength, peace and healing. Thank you for keeping us all posted. Get well soon.

[Kurt]

Dan, thank you for sharing your story. Cesar and I continue to send you our very best wishes and we look forward to the day when your tests and therapies are no longer needed because we know you will beat this!

[Deeya]

Sending positive vibes! Try some visualization immersing yourself in healing green light of the Arch Angel Rafael.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTCvgP6PBQ4

[Sheletta Brundidge]

I pray for y'all every day.