Amazing

On January 26th, 2008 I received my new cells from my donor. She was very generous and gave me 4.9 million of her stem cells. The nurse came in with the bag and I got to hold it. We took lots of pictures before it was time to hang it. When the Chaplin blessed the cells that's when it hit me. I was getting this transplant and it is going to cure me. So far this transplant has been nothing like I expected. I thought I would be weak and sick from the chemotherapy. Other than a few days of nausea I feel great. This is the best I have felt in a long time. I pray that I will tolerate this well and be able to recover quickly. Now I have to wait to see if my donor cells engraft. That should take 10-14 days. Right now the cells are making their way thru my body to my marrow and getting ready to get to work. Once my white count starts to recover I will be able to go home. I will be followed closely for a few weeks to make sure I don't get graft vs. host disease. If I do then I will be on medication to control it. The doctors say that a little graft vs. host is good because it means the cells are doing their job, but it can get out of control if you don't watch it. It will take a year for my immune system to be back to normal. So for the next year I will have to be careful that I don't catch anything. I hope to be back working with my kids in August. I really need to get back to my normal life.

Thanks so much

I wanted to thank everyone who has called to wish me luck today. My stem cells are on their way to Dallas as I type this and I will for sure get the transplant sometime tomorrow. It means so much to me that everyone is thinking and praying for me. I will update tomorrow and let everyone know how it goes.

Day-1

Today is the day that my donor will donate her cells. From what I was told they were able to get all the stem cells I need at one time. I am so thankful that there are people willing to sacrifice so much for someone they have never met. I am suppose to get the transplant tomorrow, but it is now looking like Saturday morning. I guess the stem cells are coming from far away because they are flying into DFW and are not suppose to be here until late tomorrow night. Once they get here there is another process they have to go thru before they are given to me. My white cells are not at zero, but that won't stop anything. It is a blessing that it is taking longer because that means the shorter time that my white cells are at zero the better chance I have of not getting an infection. I guess all that chemo I have had has made my white cells very hard to kill.

Chemo is done forever!! Day -2

Today was the last chemo treatment that I will ever have to have. I am so happy that once my hair grows back chemo will not be able to take it away from me again. I tolerated the pre-transplant regimen better than I expected to. When you hear you are getting high dose chemotherapy you get the idea that you will be in lots of discomfort. I only had a few days of nausea and my appetite is not what it once was, but that's the worse of it. Tomorrow will be easy day since all I get is fluids.

My white cells are on their way to zero. This chemo regimen will destroy my white cells and they will never recover without the transplant. My donor should be ready for her part tomorrow. She has received 5 days of a white cell booster so her body can overproduce stem cells so there are enough to collect. She will be hooked up to a machine that will take her blood and put it thru a machine that will separate the blood into layers. They will collect the stem cells in a bag and give the rest of her blood back. Once they collect enough stem cells a courier will bring them to Dallas to be given to me. We hope that there will be enough cells on the first day so that she will not have to donate twice. I will for sure get my transplant on Friday because once I start my chemo we are on a schedule that can't be changed.

My part of the transplant is painless. When you hear the word transplant you think they are going to have to cut me open. Stem cells are smart and they know where to go in the body. They are dripped thru my I.V. like a blood transfusion. Once in my body they will make red blood, white blood cells and platelets. In 10-14 days my donors cells will engraft and start to produce white cells. It will be a year or more before I have a normal immune system again. A year after the transplant I have to get all my immunizations again. This process is like being reborn. On Friday I will have a new birthday. My life will be forever changed because of the stem cells of a complete stranger. I am truly blessed.

Day -5

Another uneventful day. I spent most of the day finishing my book that I started yesterday and walking around the halls to pass the time. My counts have spiked like the doctor said they would and they should start coming down very soon. I am surprised that I have felt this good after 3 rounds of chemo. I know there are going to be some bad days, but so far this has been a positive experience.

Day -6

I am surprised that I still feel as good as I do after 2 treatments of chemo. I have 2 more days of this drug and then I get another new chemo called Cytoxin for 2 days. The Cytoxin is suppose to be a harder drug and might cause some nausea. Luckily I only get that for 2 days. I will have a day off before I have my transplant. There are several volunteers that I have met that have had transplants of this floor. Most are 3-5 years post transplant. It is nice to speak to others that have been thru what I am going thru and they all look so good. That has definitely make me feel better about the transplant and that I can go back to my normal life one day and no one would be able to tell that I was ever sick with leukemia.

Day -7 It all begins today

Well I am all checked in to my room in Dallas. It's no 5 star hotel, but the room is larger than the room I had at Harris. Last night they placed the central line so they have access to a vein to give me all my medications. As you can see it's in my neck. That has taken me some time to get use to. Chemo started this morning at 9am. Today is day -7. I am receiving 7 days of high dose chemotherapy and then on day zero after the chemo is finished I will receive my donors cells. The days after the transplant are positive days (+1, +2). So far I have felt great and I do not have the anxiety that I thought I would. It will take about a week for my counts to go to zero and that's when I will be feeling at my worst. I would love visitors, but just make sure you are not sick. If you have a cough, runny nose or allergies it is best to stay away. I will have no immune system and nothing to fight off an infection if I catch one. My cell phone works in my room if you want to call and chat.

My Address:

Samantha Galpin

Baylor University Medical Center

4 Collins, Room 435

3500 Gaston Avenue

Dallas, TX 75247

The end is near

I wanted to let everyone know that my transplant will be happening very soon. I received the phone call yesterday that my donor is available to donate on the 25th of January. That means I have to be in the hospital a week before so I can be ready to receive my donors stem cells. I will be admitted to the hospital on Thursday. Starting on Friday I will receive 7 days of high dose chemotherapy that will kill off all my healthy cells and leukemia cells. Once all my cells are gone then I will receive my donors stem cells thru a blood transfusion. It's a painless process for me. After I receive my donors stem cells I will be monitored to make sure my body does not try to fight the foreign cells. I hope to only have to be in the hospital for a month. Once I am in the hospital I will be updating the blog more often since I will have a lot more going on to talk about. Thanks for continuing to keep me in your prayers.