Well, it's been a few days since the first/last post. I kept telling myself "I've got to finish up the history before I start the ongoing posts".
Today I realized that things are going so fast that I'll never catch up. So, I'll give up on the history, unless I remember something that's relevant.
Since the last post, the insurance company gave approval for the next step, two days days of testing and orientation.
Yesterday, I started the process. 9am until 3pm, I was interviewed, taught how to give myself injections of growth hormone and how to clean the three-headed catheter thing they'll plug into a vein for easy access; it'll be my buddy for the next few months. I had an ekg, echocardiogram, TWENTY tubes of blood taken for testing. To top it all off, a 90 minute talk with a shrink. Whew...I was wiped out after all that.
Today, another 9am start. This was a shorter day, since I've already had a bone marrow biopsy. An hour class on the hemapheresis (blood separating) machine that'll extract my stem cells from my blood and return the rest of the blood to me. A "Pulmonary Function Test" followed, where I impressed the tech with my "exercise-enhanced" lungs. I got to lie down after that while they took x-rays of my entire body, from head to toes including arms, and several angles of each.
I got my schedule for the next few weeks and have an idea of when things will happen.
Assuming the insurance company and others review the test results and I'm still a go, I'll start giving myself growth-hormone shots on November 9th.
On November 12th, they'll knock me out and put in the central line (three-lead venous catheter). Starting November 13th, they start collecting stem cells...4-5 hours a day for about 2 days, sometimes more, sometimes less) until they have enough.
Soon after that, I go into the hospital's ward for compromised immune system patients. I get a single large dose of chemotherapy drugs. Two days after that, they give me back my stem cells, whose job is now to regrow my immune system from scratch.
Oh yeah, in the meantime, my kidney doc's partner (who thinks he's G-d and that I'm HIS patient) left a message to call his office. I did yesterday but he hasn't returned my call yet. And he wonders why I don't like him ;-)
Well, that's it for now. Hope I haven't bored you too much.
Jerry
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3 comments:
Keep up the GOOD spirt! And look at it this way:
LET THE GAMES BEGIN!
Since the sooner you get this started the sooner it ends and the BETTER you will be feeling again!
Keep the BLOG going!
Wow...20 vials of blood...bet that made you more light-headed than any massage you've ever had, eh?!
I'm so glad to see this foray in blogdom. If this little nook in cyberspace gives you even a fraction of a sense of a place to "vent it all" as my blog did for me, you'll find it a wonderful form of release.
A very good artist friend of mine, Kevin, created and maintained an ongoing comic strip when he was undergoing chemo a few years ago. In his strip, he was the main character and his healthy cells, as well as his cancerous ones, were his "community". He had his cells dialoguing with each other and with himself; some of it was heart-breaking, some of it was intensely personal, and some of it was just side-splittingly hilarious...all of it was so incredibly honest. It was such an honor to participate in his healing process thru the reading of his comics.
He later told me that casting his experiences into the more benign spotlight of a comic strip kept him in a positive mindset at some of his hardest moments in his healing process.
May this blog do that for you, my friend, along with the help of all who love you and who will be helping you along this temporary loose-gravel road. :) You'll be back on the nice smooth pavement in no time!
Hugs, Tracy
Hi Jerry
It was good to see you today looking well. I repeat what Bruce said, "keep up the GOOD spirit."
The BLOG was an excellent idea to keep us informed on your progress.
I am praying for your speedy recovery.
Take care and continue to be in good cheer..
Kathy Baker
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