Bone Marrow Transplantation Plans and Schedule

Hey Peeps!! So, Mark and I met with Dr. Shelton and she was very happy with the results of my scan. She said that it is definitely time to move forward to transplant as soon as possible.

This past week I went in and had pre-transplant scans...Tons of blood work, a Chest XRay, MUGA scan, Pulmonary funtion test and Darn ABG. These are all very important so that we know my baseline before recieving the high dose chemotherapy.

The regimen I will recieve is called Bumeltt (Busulfan, Mephalan, and Thiotepa). It is supposed to be a great regimen for Relapsed/Refractory Hodgkin's with an autologous transplant following. I found some great research about this regimen compared to all others. Below is the research link if you'd like to check it out.

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fash.confex.com%2Fash%2F2011%2Fwebprogram%2FPaper43879.html&h=iAQGCfm6OAQHwk-2tE-_3kxDfrhgIYOR5b7Golgx8L_h1kw

If you're wondering why I have to do this after I've achieved remission, the reason is simple. I have relapsed before when we thought the disease was gone. This means that there were tiny tiny Hodgkin's cells still floating around in my body that were so small that they were undetectable in scans. The same could happen again even though I am in Complete Remission. Me being in Remission only helps my chances for a successful transplant. The high dose chemo is designed to kill off any residual Hodgkin's cells that may be undetectable. The transplant's purpose is to help my body recover from the effects of the high dose chemotherapy. I have to do this to increase my chances of never relapsing again.

Below is a schedule of upcoming appointments and the bone marrow process.....

Weds. Dec 14-  Meet with the BMT team, sign consents, and review scans

Thurs. Dec 15-  Port removed from Right Chest wall and 1st Hickman IV line placed in Left Chest         wall

Mon. Dec 19- 2nd Hickman IV line placed in Right Chest wall

Tues. Dec 20- Begin high dose chemotherapy outpatient

Sat. Dec 24- Admit to hospital to finish the next 5 days of high dose chemotherapy

Thurs. Dec 29- TRANSPLANT DAY

After my stem cells are given back to me on Transplant Day, we just watch and wait for my cells to engraft and start to produce new ones in my bone marrow to spread throughout my body. This is a long process and can take weeks to occur. Hopefully it will go by quickly.

It sucks to be in the hospital on Christmas but I can't complain because I think it's God's gift to me, A second chance at life. So for that, I am thankful.

Allie can't visit me while in the hospital because she is too young but we will skype daily. She is coming to Birmingham for a few days before I am admitted so I can spend that time with her. I think being away from her will be the hardest part but I'm glad that she is too young to know what is going on or to remember. She is my heart and I am so blessed to have her.

Thanks to everyone for your continued support and prayers. We are hoping and praying that this is it and we can gain a CURE from this! I'll keep you all updated throughout the whole process, I can't promise everyday but I'll keep you posted as much as I can. Much love.