In the
transplant schedule, the day of transplant is designated “day zero”. Today,
“day minus six”, his chemotherapy started around 4:30 p.m. For four consecutive
days he will receive Fludarabine by IV approximately one hour a day and
Busulfan by IV, two hours a day.
In about
two days he will start taking Tacrolimus, an immunosuppressive drug, to reduce
the risk of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Sam’s stem cells are the “graft”,
David’s body is the “host”. There is a risk that the transplanted stem cells
will attack David’s liver, skin, and/or gastro-intestinal tract.
On
Thursday, “day minus four”, Sam will start receiving injections to increase the
number of stem cells and encourage them to migrate into his bloodstream. On
Monday, June 16th, ‘day zero”, Sam will be attached to a machine for
several hours, which will collect stem cells from his bloodstream and then
return the rest of his blood back into a vein. If all goes well, David will
receive these stem cells that same day.
The right
end of the couch in room 1034 has a great view of Beacon Hill and the
Statehouse. We lost the view of the Charles River we enjoyed in room 1040.
David’s in
good spirits. He finished Season Three of Avatar
today. For our annual Family Holiday last Thursday, Jim, David, Sam, and I
watched several episodes, plus a Doc
Martin.
According
to the “Transplant Schedule” Dr. Chen gave us, day minus six to day plus one
are marked, “boring”. We hope so.
Posts
Thank you for the updates. I do read them and I also try not to "hover". David remains in our prayers, and of course there is more broth frozen here and fresh juice or soups when they would again be helpful. I loved hearing about R'el's concert.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the update. I have been at Jeff's since a week ago Wednesday and am going to Shelley tomorrow. Sam, you are a trouper. We are very grateful that your blood is a good match. You are all in my thoughts and prayers. Love, Meemaw
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