Transplant Day

We left Sunday afternoon for Columbus!  Ron was not feeling well at all.  He's had some incredible bone pain from the Neulasta injections he was giving himself.  Then Sunday was church and he preached twice, so he was worn out.  Not enough to allow me to drive, but worn out still!

 

 

The Lord has blessed us and we were able to stay in a hotel Sunday evening and just rested. Neither of us slept well, Ron in pain and my mind thinking ahead to the coming day, but we rested!

 

We arrived at the James Cancer Center at 7am.  Checked in and were in this room of beds at about 8am to begin the process!

Below is the machine that Ron was hooked up to.  It is an amazing machine.  They were able to have 1 needle in each of Ron's arms.  One to take the blood out to the machine and one to return his blood to him.

 

 

There were some "minor" complications during the process, issues with needles and veins and nurses, but everything was figured out and the collection was finished by about 2:30. 

 

Ryan and Holly came down a couple of times for some quick chats during that time.

 

 

I am so proud to be called this guys wife!  He is such a selfless person.  He went through a lot in this past week and yesterday and continues to hurt today, but he did it without complaint!  He hurt, but he was willing to go through it for his brother -so so proud of him!

 

 

 

After all the collection we went down to Ryan's room to sit and wait to see if Ron needed to return for more collection the following day. 

You'll notice when Ryan leave his room he has to wear a mask (see picture above), but when someone comes into his room, they wear the mask!

 

Ryan and Ron's dad was also there for transplant day. It was nice to be able to visit with him  too and so good that he was able to be there!

 

 

 

Last night Ryan recieved the cells and the last we talked to them, he was still pretty loopy from medication, but had taken the infusion well.

I'll try to explain a little more, from our understanding as to the process.

 

The stem cells that Ron's body created came from the bone. The injections boosted this number and put them into his bloodstream. That is where the bone pain comes from. Ron was able to feel his entire skeletal system - although this is an amazing thing, it was also a very painful thing as the feelings were more of burning pain. Then yesterday Ron was hooked up to a machine that would draw the blood out and seperated the stem cells and then return his blood back to him. Really an interesting machine and complicated too! Ron has "great veins" and the process started out great. We think he was given a "newer" nurse who was very unsure of what she was doing. There were some complications in that his blood kept clotting and that would stop the process. As a result the nurse pulled the needle (a few times). Finally the 3rd nurse tried a new vein and it was smooth sailing! His arms are still extrememly sore from all the needles!

So when the stem cells are collected, they run all his blood throughout his body through this machine 4 times - that is when they are completed for the day. Then they take what is collected and count cells. We are so thankful that after just one day they had collected the target number and we were finished!

Last night around 5:30 Ryan began the infusion to recieve the cells. Let me back up a moment and tell you that his body has been undergoing chemo all week and his white blood cell count is continuing to drop and will continue to drop for a week or so more! His next few days/week are critical! His body cannot fight anymore. That is where the stem cells come in.

The hope is that now that Ryan's body has given up fighting, Ron's cell will take over for him. It is our understanding that the stem cells are "baby cells". They can make white or red blood cells, whatever is needed. There is a risk of graft vs. host (not sure of spelling), but I understand that a little of that is good and wanted.   Ron's cells will see Ryan's body as foreign and begin to fight (for him). So he could and should develop minor symptoms in the next few days/weeks. Things like rash, diarrhea, etc. But he could also continue to develop more serious things (the cells could attack organs). For the next year Ryan will have to go back to the hospital 2x's a week to be monitored, perhaps even longer.

For now Ryan's counts are still dropping. It won't be until 10-12 more days before they begin to get up to where he can be around crowds and be out of the hospital.

He will be in now until his counts are up to a safe number.

So again, it is critical for him in the next few days and then after that he will continue to be monitored.

Thank you all for your prayers. The Lord is good, we are so thankful that the transplant day went well and that Ron is on his way to recovery. The Lord is good and we are trusting Him for total and complete healing!

disclaimer:  Pictures were posted on this blog without permission from the guy in the bed:)  He's obviously feeling a little better because he is claiming I need written permission :)  Thanks for praying!