Category: Uncategorized

Today, April 9th, was a rest day for me. No more chemo and no infusions. You would think that I’d be bored with nothing to do, but that was not the case. I had a visit from the team in the morning, dietitian, social worker, and friends from bikor cholim. My parents were still in…

Sunday, April 7th, day -3, started off like the previous days with the two chemos in the morning. I was introduced after to a new drug called rATG, rabbit Antithymocyte Globulin. I received the extra pre-medications (I mean, after all, I was getting some rabbit globulins 🐰). After two hours of the infusion my heart…

Friday and Saturday were uneventful. I continued my course of chemo. 6 AM Cytarabine, 8 AM Etoposide, 6 PM Cytarabine, and 8 PM Etoposide. A total of 12 hours each day. I kept busy with all my activity books and puzzle games from all my awesome friends! Also, not sure if I mentioned, not only…

We had an early start on Wednesday, April 3rd (Day -7). We got to Registration at 7:45 AM and were brought up to our room on the 11th floor. My assigned room was tiny and the view was facing another building. We hadn’t even unpacked the car yet and the room was already cramped. This…

I know you’ve all been waiting for this! Monday, April 1st, David and I dropped the kids off at school, said our good byes, finished loading the car, and then headed back for Cleveland! It was a quick day, I had some blood work done, and then had a visit with my transplant doctor. Good…

Today, Monday, March 11th, was stem cell collection day. Believe it or not, these last two weeks were all prep for today. We checked in to the Apheresis unit at 7:30 AM. The nurse drew some labs, as well as a CD34 count, which can help predict whether I should collect enough stem cells or…

I spent every morning at the clinic this week getting my vitals and my blood work drawn. I watched as my counts continued to drop just as expected. My doctor is happy with my progress, so therefore, I am too!Yesterday was fun since my BP dropped as well , 79/50, but there’s nothing a bag…

David and I went home to Pittsburgh for the weekend. It had only been a few days, but I’m sure the kids were ready to have us back! The weekend was uneventful. My friends and family went out of their way to make us some yummy homemade meals 😋. I tried to relax, stay on…

Today, February 28th, was a long day in treatment! We had a 7:45 AM start and left close to 7:00 PM. After getting my vitals and placing me in my treatment room, the nurse immediately started my IV fluids and my premedications. I received 5 liters plus an additional liter that my chemo came mixed…

Today, February 27th, we headed back to Cleveland, this time it was to begin my stem cell journey! David pulled the car up to the valet parking at the Cleveland Clinic, jumped out to grab a wheelchair for me, the valet staff stopped him and asked, “is your wife in labor?” Um, not that we…