I Have Been Reborn (Day 1)

Sorry for the sporatic posting over the past few days.  I have realized that over the past few days that going forward there are probably going to be a few days that I will miss posts just because I am too tired to write.

Well the pre-conditioning program is complete.  At 4pm yesterday I finished my 6th and final total body radiation appointment.  I have gotten a pretty good red glow from it (I guess it suits the christmas season :) ) 

While you lay in the radiation room you get lots of time for reflection and thought since you are all alone.  (All the techs run out and seal you in the lead room before it begins).  While going through the radiation it dawned on me that I was killing myself.  It was an odd realization.  I had agreed to a conditioning program that without the miraculous generosity of my donor I would not survive from.  It really put a lot into perspective.  I am personally really happy to be done all the conditioning program, I really did not enjoy the radiation.  As the xrays react with the air they make a disgusting smell that I did not enjoy one bit.

Last night at 5pm I was infused with my new stem cells.  These new suckers will move throughout my body over the next few weeks looking for bone marrow to set up shop in and start producing all my new blood cells.  The interesting thing is as they start producing my new immune system, it will seek out my old one and kill any remaining cells which will include any leukemic cells that survived the radiation and chemotherapy.  I am now just playing the waiting game of waiting for my old counts to crash and waiting for the new cells to start doing there job.  I have posted a picture of me holding my new cells.  It was a very surreal experience holding a bag that had so much power and would save me life. 

Well that is all for now. I hope you all have a good christmas.  We sure intend with such a wonderful christmas gift given to us.  I only hope to one day repay even a fraction of the generosity this person has given to me.

Aaron

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Day (-2) -- Total Body Irradiation Day 1

Hey Everyone,
Well I have finished my first day of radiation.  Amy is a little jealous because while I am downstairs getting colour in the world's strongest tanning machine she is getting pale :)  Todays message is gonna be pretty short just wanted to let everyone know I made it through the first two rounds of radiation.  It takes a lot of out you.  I am not tired like I need to sleep.  My body is tired like I just finished working out for 3 or 4 hours.  Everything is just exhausted.  I am sure the two big bags of chemo are helping with this a little too. 

As I left my second dose of radiation I had visions of myself looking like homer simpson glowing green :)  I can imagine how green I will be by Friday....Just put on some red and I will be perfectly decorated for Christmas :)

On a side note just thought I share a fun little fact from yesterday.  I was actualy not a person but a fountain yesterday.  I expelled over 8L of liquid.  I think I spent more time in the bathroom than in the room :)  Thankfully I am not longer hooked up to the pumps anymore and I control my intake. 

Alright I am off to rest and prepare for day 2 of radiation.




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Day (-3) - FInal Chemo

Hey Everyone,
As you can see by the title I received my final dose of chemo today.  My nurse Jill was nice enough to pose with the empty bag (although she hid her face at the last second).  Hopefully if everything goes as planned this will be my last chemo ever.  I will be keeping my fingers crossed and saying prayers it is.  Again I tolerated the chemo pretty well today without too much nausea.  The only side effect is I have to pee a lot because they are pumping me with fluids (from 7am to 2pm I intook 4L of fluid).  This is kind of good because I made a rule halfway through my last hospital stay that every bathroom break I wash my mouth so hopefully all these pee breaks will reduce the severity of the mouth sores....stay tuned as they should be cropping up in a few days.
Today my mom, Amber and Al came for a visit to keep me company while Amy went to do some things.  We had a nice visit and they gave us a picture frame with lots of pictures in it.  Thanks to everyone that took time to send in personal messages with the pictures.  They were really heartwarming and it was altogether a nice surprise.
They left at around 4 as I was beginning to feel tired and was going to take a nap.  Well the hospital had other plans for me and hooked me up to a diuretic.  So now I have been having to go to the bathroom every 10 minutes.  So much for that nap...everytime I close my eyes all I can think about is going to the bathroom. :)  It is kind of a good thing because since they have hooked me up I have probably taken in about 4 more litres than I have gotten rid of.  It is ruining my favorite part of the day.  They say when you go through these traumatic times to take things a day at a time and celebrate the little things.  One of my favorite things is the weight loss...I tell you chemotherapy and cancer treatment can be an excellent weight loss regime :)  I look forward to the scale each day.  Although the past two days it just keeps going up....not my idea of fun....I will let you know after a week what I have lost. I had a new years resolution this year so this transplant came at a good time of the year and just might get me there....:)
Tomorrow I start my first two rounds of total body radiation.  Not to sure what to expect but I have been told it isn't a big deal.  The chemo has the worse side effects.  I will update you all tomorrow on how it goes.  Well my dinner got here and I have to go to the bathroom again so I am signing off..Hope you all had a great weekend!  Oh yeah don't forget to keep clicking the ads ;)
Aaron
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