One and Done!

What a day! I went to the Dr. this morning, face mask and all, to get my next round of blood work. Surprisingly, my white blood cell count went from an extreme low of .6 on Wednesday to an extreme high of 13.4 today (normal is 3.5 - 11). I guess you could say the news "burst my bubble!" Off with the face mask and my WBC's were back in the game fighting infection. This also meant it was the perfect time to harvest my stem cells, so off to the hospital we went.

Typically, stem cell collection is an outpatient procedure and takes about 5-7 consecutive days. In some cases, it can take up to two weeks for stubborn cells. Everyone is different. Due to the blizzard that is upon us, this was a major concern. How would we get back and forth from the hospital this weekend with 20+ inches of snow on the ground?

They harvest enough cells for two transplants and the cells are frozen until needed. In my case, I need between 5 and 10 MILLION stem cells. That number is unfathomable to me. So, late this afternoon after Cathy Trilumen was hooked up to the stem cell machine for over 4 hours, the transplant nurse gave me the great news that they had harvested over 10 million stem cells in one sitting! I am a super stem cell producer! A little known fact about myself that I can share at cocktail parties for years to come.

Dave and I couldn't be happier. I have reached another milestone in this process. Monday, I will have more details on the next step.

"Ten million stem cells!"