It was probably more like 50 fruit flavored (the worst kind) that i had to "snack on" (as my nurse called it) over the past three days. You might be wondering why one might decide to chow down on these fruit flavored gems.I started the stem cell collection process, also known as Apheresis on Tuesday, and finished today, collecting about 5.3 million stem cells, all packaged up and ready to be infused back into my body next Thursday (well about half of them will be). The whole process was a bit science fictiony, but amazing to watch. In a nut shell here is what happens.
I get hooked up to the machine via my Hickman line, which consists of two little lines (catheters) coming out of my chest...the machine is hooked up to the lines, where it takes out my blood from one catheter, runs it through a centrifuge to collect the stem cells and then returns my blood (sans stem cells) through the other catheter.
The stem cells are collected in the machine and then "harvested" or released into a bag that will be counted and then frozen until i need them. Each day i think the sum of all the blood in my body is run through the machine about 6 times.
So while i am hooked up to the machine i cannot get up to use the bathroom, so i have to grin and use a commode. Which is not, as i had initially thought a bed pan, but rather a toilet seat on wheels with a little bucket. It is quite hilarious, especially when someone walks past the curtains that separate me from the rest of the people in the room, and the curtain sort of flies open a little, giving everyone a little show. Haha.
1 comments:
Ah good! So you got them all! YAY! Isn't it boring sitting there all day?
50 Tums?? BLECH! I didn't have to take many- just two-of course-I also didn't get enough stem cells last time to keep a hummingbird alive. :)
Anyway, it will all be over soon-at least this part. I'll be thinking of you and praying that all goes well.
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