Miracles Do Happen! - Stem Cell Collection Day

I awoke at 3:30 a.m.  I was wide awake probably because I went to bed a 9 p.m. in preparation for an early rise of 6:00 a.m. Oh well. After trying to go back to sleep, I finally got up at 4:45 a.m. and started the next sock in my pair of Ladies' Large that I am knitting. My mind was going full tilt and starting to fret about my upcoming Stem Cell Collection. Finally, I heard the radio alarm go on in our bedroom. I put my knitting down, heaved myself out of the couch and made my way to the bedroom. I was cleaned, dressed and ready to leave the house by 6:10. Hubby was still in bed. He didn't take long to get ready and we were out the door by 6:40. We went to McDonalds to treat ourselves to breakfast before starting what we anticipated to be a very long day in the Stem Cell Unit at the hospital.

We walked into the hospital just before 7:30 a.m. I dropped by my former workplace to drop off some used books for them to sell as I was walking by on my way to the Stem Cell Unit. When we arrived, I was shown to the room that was assigned to me for the day. Blood was taken from me to test the blood levels. The white cell count came in at 87 which was very good. I was waiting to be taken down to the Imaging Department where they would insert a dialysis line into my neck. It is through this line that the stem cells will be collected. Finally, the porter showed up with a stretcher bed to take me down to the Imaging Department.

I recognized the porter from seeing him daily while I worked in the Tuck Shop. I would see him in the halls and we would exchange greetings with a smile. Today, hubby and I joked with the porter as he wheeled me down to the Imaging Department. There were 6 people ahead of me so I was parked in the hallway behind another gentleman's stretcher/bed. After a while, I eventually was moved into a curtained holding area. The doctor came and explained what was going to happen to me and I signed the consent form.

The dialysis line was inserted into the vein (not artery) on the right side of my neck. I was given some local freezing before the started they procedure.  It took about 15 minutes and then I was all done. I was wheeled back into a curtained holding area and waited for a porter to take me up to the Stem Cell Unit. Eventually, she showed up and wheeled me away.

When we entered the Stem Cell Unit, the nurses started clapping and cheering. They were calling me their star patient. I guess when they took my blood this morning, they were also testing the amount of stem cells found in a 10ml blood sample. I apparently am now the record holder for the Stem Cell Unit for the most stem cells found in a 10 ml blood sample. I had 26.1 million stem cells in 10 ml of blood. We only needed to collect 2.5 million for the stem cell transplant. This means that instead of being hooked up and collecting stem cells for 6 hours, they would only need 90 minutes in order to collect the 2.5 million stem cells required for the Oct. 30 transplant. I was finished and unhooked from the dialysis unit by 1:45 p.m. The stem cells were being picked up by a courier at 2 p.m. and shipped to Ottawa where they will be counted, preserved and frozen.

Tomorrow, I need to return to the Stem Cell Unit at 9:30 a.m. to have the dialysis line taken out of my neck. The nurses do not expect that I will have to have any more stem cells collected, but just in case they wanted to keep this line in my neck for the night. If they need more stem cells collected, they will call me early in the morning to have me come in earlier. The nurses don't expect this to happen.

It looks like I will not have to come back into the hospital until I am admitted on October 25. Woo Hoo!! Today was a miracle and I truly believe that prayers were answered. I wasn't anxious today like I thought I would be. The whole day has been fabulous! Hubby and I celebrated our awesome day by having chinese takeout for dinner and then an ice cream cone for dessert. It's a day worth celebrating!! Thank you to all of you who have been sending positive thought and saying daily prayers for me. I truly believe that God has listened and answered those prayers today. The positive thoughts have also helped me to be less anxious because I know people care. Thanks to you all!