Day 16 - Stem Cell Transplant
The last week has flown and what a fantastic few days we have had. I have been giving Jimmy his Neupogen injections twice a day which means his bloods are coming up nicely, I think this morning's was his 15th one. I really am a pro now. He went with me to the mall on Saturday morning, just a quick in and out, but it felt like old times shopping together. On Sunday we joined the Sunshine Corner Golf guys for a Christmas luncheon at Clovelly Country Club. It was absolutely wonderful to see everyone again and I am sure just as good for them to all see Jimmy too. On Sunday morning Jimmy announced that he would again pop down to the shop with me. On Monday evening we did a quick pop in at the Valyland Market where we saw many more of Jimmy friends. Thanks to everyone over these few days who took time to come and say hello and for your lovely messages and being so positive. Jimmy felt like a king! Might sound meaningless to many of you but it has really been so nice just spending some different time together.
We had to go through to UCTPAH this morning so that Jimmy could have a full blood count done to see if he is ready for stem cell harvest tomorrow. I did not get a copy of the results but did see them and his white blood cell count is up to 10.1 (moprmal 4 to 11). I actually thought it would be much higher, considering that usually it gets to 15 after 3 injections after each red devil treatment. Just goes to show how strong the chemo is that he had in high care and how it has knocked his system. They reckon that the next Neupogen injection is the turning point and by tomorrow morning his white blood cell count will be around 20. So....we are good to go and have to be at the clinic tomorrow morning at 8am to start harvesting his stem cells. They are hoping to get a couple million which should take between 6 and 8 hours. As each person is different, if Jimmy takes longer then they will transfer him to high care for the night and carry on, on Friday morning. He will once again have a PICC line inserted in his groin and this is why he can't come home and go back the next morning as there is too much risk of infection. I think the hardest part of this leg of the process is going to be the fact that he has to lie on his back the entire time with minimal movement. His back still aches from time to time and gets stiff very quickly so I hope this isn't going to be a problem.
Jimmy tires quite quickly and I have noticed that he also gets breathless. His hair has started falling out in tufts so pretty soon he is going to be completely balled but he is not worried about this at all. I must say, but I think this part is much easier for a man. He has had some bone pain since Monday evening but this was to be expected due to too many stem cells in the space that is available in the long and flat bones. The worst area has been in his pelvis and the top of his thighs.
We had lovely visit from Jay Jay yesterday. It's always lovely to catch up with him and thanks too for the delicious milk tart. Ray and Bernadette are out from the UK on holiday so we had a visit from Melanie, Ray and Bernadette this afternoon. It was so good to see you again, 7 years is a long time. Matthew and Cameron also arrived in Fish Hoek yesterday from Johannesburg and as I type we await their arrival for a visit. Summer has definitely arrived in Cape Town and so has that holiday feeling.
Well....tomorrow is going to be a big day, one we have been waiting for, for a long time and one more step closer to recovery. I gave Jimmy his injection as at 8pm and we need to set the alarm for 4am to give him another one 4 hours prior to harvesting. As Julie says, hopefully Jimmy is feeling like Superman and they manage to harvest lots and lots of stem cells tomorrow.
Please keep Jimmy in your prayers and thoughts tomorrow and I will update the blog once I get home to let you all know how it went.
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