[ankitbhardwaj]

Re: My autologous stem cell transplant at Jefferson

by ankitbhardwaj on Thu Jun 11, 2015 3:45 am

Computerteacher,

All the best for your speedy recovery. My mother is currently in the hospital, Day 10, counts are still zero. How long did you take to engraft?

[computerteacher]

Re: My autologous stem cell transplant at Jefferson

by computerteacher on Thu Jun 11, 2015 11:22 am

Dear Ankit,

I had my transplant on May 5 (my Day "Zero"). On May 11, my white blood cell count zeroed out. It started gradually recovering May 13.

*** Additional Details (skip if you do not need them)

I developed "engraftment syndrome" around May 14, but was on the mend around May 18-19. I was set to be released on May 21 when I developed liver / gall bladder complications. This was a scenario that stumped my doctors. They had me prepped for surgery (yes, while I was im­munosuppressed), but then the last test they did – a "hydo-scope" (spelling not right), which is a series of scans with contrast –, showed that even though the function was not what it should be, there was function in both organs. So, they cancelled (yay!) the surgery – they came to my bedside at 11:30 at night to tell me that.

Hope this helps with my details. Oh, one more thing. I did have to have two separate trans­fusions of platelets. They did not recover as quickly as my white blood cells.

*** End of Additional Details

Please give your mom a hug from me. I will keep her in my thoughts and prayers during her re­covery process.

Denise

[PattyB]

Re: My autologous stem cell transplant at Jefferson

by PattyB on Fri Jun 19, 2015 5:44 pm

Dear Computer Teacher:

Thank you for your very honest, insightful and informative postings on your stem cell transplant experience. I had read the first couple of postings back in May as they showed up in the weekly Beacon, but we had a few crises these past fews weeks, so I lost track.

I am so happy that you are home and on the mend. Your experience and your sharing of it with us has been so valuable to us. My husband will probably have his stem cell transplant within the next three months at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and reading your postings has given him some knowledge and understanding of what to expect when he undergoes his.

We still realize, as you mentioned in your posting, that multiple myeloma is an "individual" disease and everyone reacts differently to treatments, including stem cell transplants. But your lessons learned will help my husband prepare mentally and psychologically.

Again, thanks for sharing.