Skip to main content

Super Duper Stem Cell Producer

Super Duper Stem Cell Producer        12-28-22

Apheresis Day 2      




2.46 + 6.2 = 8.66 mil


Fantabulous!


Today got off to a fabulous start!!  Early morning labs looked good. Their focus is on the number of stem cells circulating in Leila's blood stream.  That's what leads to a good collection.  Last night they gave Leila a different growth factor shot to push the stem cells out of her bone marrow and send them running through her blood stream.  Kinda like squeezing a sponge I suppose.   And wowee!!  Those stem cells ran rampant today. Could it be from the ice cream?


The minimum circulation goal for today was 20, just like yesterday. Yesterday morning’s calculation was 29. Today it’s 83!!!!!  Yippee!!  She got hooked up to the machine and everything flowed smoothly.  Michelle, the nurse who's been sitting with us every moment the past two days, was encouraging about it being a good day.


The total goal for collection was 6 million stem cells. Yesterday they retrieved 2.46 million. Today 6.2 million!  That’s a total of 8.66 million stem cells!!!  Wowee!!!  More than enough for what they need for two stem cell transplants.  They can keep them frozen for up to twenty years and they’ll still be viable when they are thawed. We had set aside three and a half days for this process and finished in just two. We’re very thankful for that. 


End of the day labs looked good.  Self-care recommendations were to exercise, eat kale, bananas and more ice cream!!!


No more medical appointments for 5 days. We get a few days to relax, reflect, and enjoy the end of 2022. What a year it’s been.  2023 begins with a bang on the 3rd. More on that later. 

Comments

  1. WOOHOO!!! No surprise that you're breaking all the records! :) Enjoy your days off! Wishing you a happy, healthy 2023 (once you move through the next bit, of course ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My thoughts exactly!! Love to you both. Enjoy your days off and being together at home!

      Delete
  2. Got to love being told to eat ice cream! Way to rock it in two days, leila. Glad you all get a few extra days to rest and recharge. Sending love and doing a happy dance at your great news.

    ReplyDelete
  3. So happy, happy, happy to hear all of this. You look great, babe. Hugs, Mary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yay, Leila!! You keep the good chi flowing and I’ll send up more positive, healing thoughts! Enjoy the ice cream! Love you❤️

      Delete
  4. Yay! So glad to hear! Enjoy your time relaxing and enjoying one another! Love you both!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Hey, this is the Comment Form Message, whatever that means.

Popular posts from this blog

Intention for chemo day 01.03.2023

​ Day -2 Come out, come out, wherever you are.  May the cancer cells in Leila's blood and bone marrow welcome the chemo and receive an invitation to exit this human.

Apheresis Day #1

​ Apheresis Day #1 Upon arrival Leila checked into her suite for the day They took 8 vials of blood (good thing she’s got great veins), gave her the growth factor shot, then she was whisked off to radiology for placement of the permanent catheter. Not sure why they call it that since it’s only there temporarily (probably 6 weeks).   Then back up to her room for the day. Once she got hooked up to the apheresis machine, Leila was able to rest and relax.  Since she couldn’t eat anything this morning, because of the anesthesia to place the port, so we packed lots of good food for her to munch on today.  Blood test results indicated her numbers looked great for a very successful harvest of the stem cells. The key calculation number they were looking for was a minimum of 20, Leila scored 29. Yeah!!    You go girl!! The goal is to get 6 million stem cells in the next two days. Enough for 2 transplants. Fingers crossed and good energy flowing . . . This machine is ...