The days that passed after the stem cell collection were mainly uneventful health-wise. It was a breath of fresh air to feel like myself again, instead of the "toxic" version of me with chemotherapy effects flowing through my body. It was also great to get my energy back again.
I did have several doctor appointments. One on March 14th, was to discuss the impending stem cell transplant (a.k.a. bone marrow transplant). We went over my medical history, and how the chemo went, and how I responded to it, etc. We also discussed the results of my CT scan. I responded very well indeed to the chemo; the tumors are gone!!! Praise God!!! This news was wonderful :) It was also necessary, as a good response to chemo is part of the road to transplant.
So, all systems go for the slated date of hospital admission for March 20th, right? No, guess again. I had already developed a cold. Quick! Hurry up and wait! I was frustrated to say the least. We had tried to get everything organized for the 20th as being D-day. *sigh*. My cold turned into a semi-laryngitis situation. There were a lot of children sick at the school (including mine...) so getting sick was relatively unsurprising.
While things were still up in the air for the admission date, I still had to have my central line put in. It was put in on March 19th. It's similar to a PICC line, but it's inserted in the chest, not the arm. Here's a picture:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150614037276333&set=a.10150614036471333.379384.640446332&type=3
The procedure was fine...helped along with "twilight sleep". It's a medication to sedate you so that you don't remember experiencing it, but you are still responsive to what the nurses and doctors say to you. Creepy, but cool. Not to mention better than remembering the procedure!
http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Images/Cancerinfo/Longdescriptions/Cancertreatment/Central-line_2011_large.jpg
Things went along fine until the evening of the 20th. My line started bleeding. Not lots, but it didn't respond to applied pressure. After a call to HealthLinks, off to the ER I went. I was not amused. This road has been far from smooth, and the thought of more complications was depressing. Fortunately, this time I didn't have to wait long at all. In about 20 minutes I was being seen by a doctor (MUCH better than the ER trip in February...). They changed my dressing, did bloodwork, and read my vital signs for awhile. The bleeding stopped, and so I went home. I was able to sleep in (thanks Moe and Mom!). When I awoke, the bleeding had started up again. So, this time I just went to CancerCare since it wasn't late at night. I had my dressing changed again, and this time they added some "steri-strips" that helped make a clot. (Why didn't the ER doctor do that?). Anyways, all has been well with it ever since. I was also prescribed antibiotics to prevent infection of the line, as well as to see if it would have any effect on whatever bacteria might be keeping the cold stay with me. Why did the bleeding start to begin with? Who knows, but likely my blood thinner, Dalteparin, was the culprit...despite not taking it for a few days as instructed. Oh well.
I now had to wait until I finished the course of antibiotics before I would be considered for admission. I felt stuck in limbo waiting to get things started. It was tiresome to not know when things would move along, as now "my" bed on the transplant ward was no longer available.
The silver lining to these delays meant that I was able to be at home with my children for spring break. It was nice to spend those lazy days at home with no morning rush. We didn't do very much, but it was pleasant. I was also able to get a few more things done on my "before going to the hospital" household checklist.
Then on Thursday the 29th, I was finished my antibiotics, and they had a bed ready...
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