Day 0 / My Re-Birthday!

Today was the big day. At about 12:0o pm, I was given my stem cells back through my central line. That's right. Stem cell slushy, straight to the heart. It was strange, as you might imagine. It tasted like creamed corn and my chest felt tight. I felt overheated and very cold at the same time. But less than ten minutes and two huge syringes later, I was reborn.

They took my vitals every 15 minutes for an hour afterward, and then I was on my way. Heck, I'd say the most uncomfortable part wasn't even the transplant itself, but when they gave me a syringe of Benedryl before the whole thing to prevent any allergic reaction. Straight to the heart, and I felt druuuunk. But luckily, that feeling faded after a while.

So here I am, back in my cozy room at the Hope Lodge. I'm very weak, phsically. Mentally, I'm exhausted. I already want to be home.

The next step is engraftment. In the next few days, my blood levels will drop into Neutropenia, and then, once the stem cells take, my levels will rise back up again. Basically, it's going to be a loooong 2-3 weeks of going to the clinic every morning for labs and transfusions. Two to three weeks of hospital masks and extreme cleanliness and dietary restrictions.


It's going to be a long month.


I need to make this positive. So, here's to new beginnings, my friends. To health and happiness. To appreciating every meal I eat and every breath I take.

Here's to starting over, cancer-free.