Day +5

I started Neupogen this morning. They're going to double the dose since I was right at the weight threshold for different doses, and they decided to go with the higher one from now on. I got a bit of a rash on my legs that went away after about half an hour. They'll give Benadryl if it's ever more of an issue. I'm still feeling really well. No more tired than I would expect to be so I'm getting some exercise each day.

Day +4

Nothing terribly exciting today. My right eye got a little blurry for about an hour, but it went back to normal. Dr. Burt decided to stop Flagyl, at least for now, just in case that had anything to do with it. Still no reaction from Meropenem. I'll start Neupogen in the morning.

Day +3

They allergy tested me for Meropenem, the antibiotic they wanted to use. It was just a skin test, injecting a bit under the skin to see if a reaction occurs. That went fine, so they gave me a small dose of it and waited, then gave me the rest after seeing no reaction. I'm still feeling well, no more tired than usual.

Day +2

Nothing exciting today. My counts bottomed out, 0.1WBC and immeasurable neutrophils, so the only way to go is up. Still feeling pretty well.

Day +1

I'm neutropenic as of today (0.6 WBC). I actually feel even better. They gave me Carafate before meals to help calm my stomach and it works pretty well. They'll do allergy testing for Meropenem on Monday to see if they can use that instead of multiple other antibiotics to make things easier on my kidneys, but it'll be fine even if they can't. Nothing too exciting, which is good.

Day 0

I'm still not quite neutropenic. I should be by tomorrow or Sunday. I felt pretty good this morning. The same upset stomach but that's all. The nurse brought in the pump for the stem cell infusion, and gave me Tylenol, Benadryl, and Hydrocortisone for premeds. The cryogenicist came in with the two sets of frozen cord blood and thawed them when everything was ready. They asked if I wanted the chaplain to bless the stem cells before the infusion so I figured why turn down any possible good fortune.

The infusion itself went really well. The preservatives put a funny taste in your mouth but mints took care of that. The preservatives also make you excrete a cream corn smell from your lungs. That's not something I can notice, though. They monitor vitals throughout and for a little while after. I haven't started to get any hives today so they discontinued Benadryl. Now I just stay healthy and wait, probably about 2 weeks, for the stem cells to engraft and grow my new immune system. They'll do blood transfusions as needed, and I'll start Neupogen injections to stimulate stem cell production in a few days.

Day -1

I noticed a few hives again a little after I woke up so they gave me more Benadryl. My stomach didn't feel great but I still ate a bit for breakfast and pills down. Nothing special for today, just letting the chemo do its thing and keeping up with the rest of the medication. Dr. Burt said I'll probably be neutropenic tomorrow or the next day. It varies for everyone, so we'll have to see how it goes. They're keeping me on Benadryl regularly since the hives seem to crop up pretty regularly from the Campath left in my system. Its half-life is really long, so it can be expected to continue for a while.

A bit later, I started to feel flush and it felt like my heart rate picked up a bit. I still felt pretty okay, but Amy came by again to check in and they did an EKG, taking every precaution possible. It all went fine and I just relaxed and it all passed. That was the only real excitement for the day. They stopped Mesna and slowed IV fluids, and I actually got detached from the pump for a few hours. Tomorrow I'll get the stem cell infusion in the morning, then I just stay clean, healthy, and wait for it to engraft and my new immune system to grow.