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Day +5 and +6
On day +5, the side effects from the chemo and radiation started to emerge. George said his throat was hurting…like after you have a long coughing episode. He is also experiencing more fatigue, which is understandable as his blood counts are in the basement. He started feeling queasy off and on, but not nauseated. He…
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Day +2 and Day +3
Day +2 wasn’t very eventful. At least that’s what George told me because I wasn’t at the hospital. I took a day off and went to Cape May for lunch at a winery and a walk on the beach with a friend. I know that once George is discharged from the hospital and comes home,…
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Day +1
The day after transplant…Day +1 and George is doing well. He does have fatigue and started having some bowel issues today (diarrhea), which the nurse said is perfectly normal and to be expected after the chemo and radiation. His spirits remain good, but he suffers from….boredom. I told him to catch up on Peaky Blinders…
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Day Zero! Happy Birthday, George!
The day we have been anticipating since George was first diagnosed with AML has finally arrived! Since we were told that the only route to the chance for an actual cure for George was a bone marrow transplant, we have been moving towards this day with intention and hope…completing all the tests required to clear…
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Days -3, -2 and -1
George’s chemo ended on Day-4 and on Day -3, he started his TBI (total body irradiation). The transport folks come and get him very early in the morning, between 5:30 and 6:00 and wheel him down to the radiation department. He lies on his side the entire time and the staff there plays some classic…
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Days -5 and -4
The day a transplant patient receives their new stem cells from their donor is referred to as Day Zero. The days leading up to it are listed in a T-minus manner, meaning in a way that indicates a specific amount of time remains before the main event. And the days after in the same way,…
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Admittance Day
Saturday, July 2nd had finally arrived. We drove to The Pavilion at UPenn, which is a brand new part of the Abrams Cancer Center, having just opened in November 2021. George was admitted to the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit on the 14th floor. His room is a nice size and has sweeping views over the…
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What’s Your Line? (Central & PICC)
Friday, July 1, George went in to the hospital and had his Hickman catheter, or central line and his peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC line) placed. What are those things? I’m glad you asked. A Hickman catheter, or central line, is a soft, small hollow tube that is placed into a vein in the chest…
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Meeting With Radiologist
Well, we are three days out from hospital admittance and today, we met with the radiologist. As I previously wrote, George will enter the hospital on Saturday, July 2nd. On Sunday he will start chemotherapy for two days, then on Tuesday he will undergo total body irradiation (TBI) for three days, twice a day. On…
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Preparing for Hospital Admission
Hard to believe, but George will be admitted to the hospital a week from yesterday for his allogenic stem cell transplant. We have been moving towards this day since January, it seems, and now it is upon us. It is both exciting and terrifying, as I explained in the previous post. A couple of weeks…
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Diagnosis: Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). A Journey 