Day 7 - One Week Anniversary!

Today marks the one week anniversary of the bone marrow transplant!  I’m so grateful to be at this point in the fight and recovery.  Little by little I can see the progress Michelle is making.

Tender mercies come in all varieties.  Yesterday was the day we all knew would come.  Even though we’ve watched Shelly suffer through chemotherapy and be so sick, somehow it all became so much more real.  At 12:45 pm yesterday, the sweetest nurse shaved Shelly’s quickly falling out hair off.  The tender mercy was this.  Michelle had just finished receiving a platelet transfusion and a hearty dose of Benadryl.  So the event that could have been a little emotional was instead a nice groggy little slumber.  Steve was quick to take lots of pictures, of which will never be posted for the public, but rather kept for a quiet memory for Michelle to view later.  I stated in an earlier post, “bald is beautiful.”  And that, my sister is, BEAUTIFUL. 

Following the hair cut, I helped Shelly get showered.  She completely woke up with the water on her back.  Shelly touched her hair and said "huh, so this is what you do while I'm sleeping."  Her sense of humor continued to be evident while placing the soft cap on her head:

"Robyn, be careful." 

I replied, "why Shell.  Is your head sensitive?" 

"No, your messing up my hair."

I love this sister of mine!  She is wonderful and continues to keep me laughing!

Her WBC continues to decline.  This IS a good thing.  We want them to crop to 0.  Once it reaches 0 the bone marrow transplant will go in and do its thing and graph, and begin rebuilding those white blood cells.  A few more sores have developed down her throat and of course the sores in her mouth are still there.  All this will go away when the WBC begins to climb again.  Today she received a red blood cell transfusion.  This will help her perk up a bit.  In fact, her appetite might be returning.  Let’s cross our fingers.

Day Six - Doing Hard Things

Most of us woke this morning to our regular routine.  Perhaps a quick work-out at the gym, home to get the kiddos ready and out the door for school, then off to our chores.  Simple things.  More and more I am grateful for my regular little routine as I watch my sister concentrate on more serious matters.  With each day as her blood levels drop and the bad cells die off making room for the good "super cells" from her brother, Michelle deals with things such as fatigue, nose bleeds, mouth sores, and hair falling out.  Shelly has made every effort to keep her mouth clean avoiding sores that can sometimes follow the chemotherapy.  Unfortunately today she found a couple of small sores in the bottom of her mouth.  She'll continue to follow a good oral hygiene regime to avoid additional sores. 

We are grateful to know that the chemotherapy did it's job killing all the fast growing cells in her body.  This became evident as she awoke to hair covering her pillow and shirt.  This was again illustrated after she washed and combed her hair.  The nurse will be in a little later to give Shelly her final hair cut, or rather, shave her head.  Bald is beautiful!  Today I believe this more so, for I know that bald truely means the chemo did its job.  Those cancer cells have hopefully been eradicated along with the good and ALL the bad. 

The Lord has continued to bestow His tender mercies on Michelle through this whole process.  Each day as the doctor comes in to check on Michelle, he tells her she is doing AMAZING!  I believe he is really telling her the truth.  She has avoided many of the side effects or complications that sometimes follow the treatment she is undergoing.  The minor things that have come up have been quickly been placed under control. 

I have felt privileged to observe Michelle doing hard things.  She is honestly so strong and with each passing day she gets stronger.  I am so proud of her.  I love you Shelly.  Thanks for allowing me to be part of this time with you and teaching me so much of courage, strength, hope and faith.

Day 4 and 5 - Low Point

I really do feel bad that I don't post a new story every day, but there really isn't much to tell from one day to the next.  The doctor came in this morning and commented to Shelly that she is doing really well for day plus five.  This is the week that her blood levels remain on a steep decline as her cells continue to die from the chemo.  Let me illustrate what I am talking about.  The day Michelle entered Huntsman her blood levels were: White Blood Count (WBC) 2.48, Hemoglobin (HGB) 8.0, Platelets (PLT) 132.  Today her blood levels are: WBC .26, HGB 8.1, and PLT 28.  Keep in mind, she had a hemoglobin transfusion last Thursday and a platelet transfusion yesterday.  What this means is that the chemo IS doing its job and killing everything in its wake.  Shelly is at her lowest point this week.  When the numbers start to come back up that means the bone marrow transplant is graphing.  It will all be worth it when that takes place.

We ask that there be absolutely no visitors this week due to the fact that Michelle is a really critical point in her healing process.  We're grateful for everyones concern, but please help us keep her safe.  Bone marrow cancer is slightly different than other cancers.  It will be a very long time until Shelly's immune system is strong enough to fight even simple little things.  She will be limited to the types of foods she can eat and won't be allowed to leave the confines of her own home for a very long time.  The healing process for MDS is crazy, but in the long run so well worth it. 

Update on Gerald, he is feeling so much better.  He returned to work Saturday morning and attended church on Sunday.  Prayers have been answered!

Day 2 and Day 3 - Waiting

This is the period of time where we just wait.  Wait for the blood levels to slowly continue to drop, wait for the blood levels to come back up, wait to leave the hospital, wait to feel better... and the list goes on - WAITING.

Yesterday was an okay day.  It started off the same as the last few... feeling blah.  Shelly had great company though to help take the edge off of the blah day.  Steve's sisters Debby and Rosemarie spent the day with Shelly.  It was another day of making goals and setting out to achieve them.  She showered, went for 2 walks, ate but didn't keep the food down so much.  Brushing her teeth is not exactly a fun experience.  Those darn gag reflects are not easily controlled at this point.  The late evening brought on another round of nausea, thank heavens Steve was with her.  There wasn't anyone scheduled to spend the night with Michelle, so after Steve watched her get sick, he decided to make a bed on the couch. 

Today has brought on another day of goal setting and achieving.  Shower, check, they rest are yet to be conquered.  Shelly's heart today longs to be elsewhere.  Her thoughts and prayers have been with Cindy Lowe and her family.  She would love to walk through Zach and Melanie's house to see all the changes taking place there, and of course the luxury of being surrounded by those she loves in her own home.  Soon Shelly, soon.  Just a little paitence and a short time of waiting and then you will be able to enjoy every second of life again. 

Day 1 - Update

Michelle has accomplished all three goals as of 4:00 pm today.  Shower, check.  Walk, check.  Eaten and kept the food down, check! 

Stem cells need to just work really hard and do their job!  Shelly's doing great.  Keep the prayers coming, along with your comments of support and encouragement!

Day 1 - Goals!

We've made it through the transplant and her Re-Birthday!  This morning Shelly is getting a blood transfusion which is normal considering the chemo that she has been through.  She is making such huge improvements today.  As I walked into the room today she was sitting up in her bed and had a huge smile of greeting for me.  Smiles have been missing for the last several days.  Also missing as of late has been Shelly's fun-loving personality, but don't you worry.  It is back today along with her full belly laughter.

Improvements I've noticed that she has made today are: the fully belly laughter, the ability to carry on a conversation, zip in her step and the ability to walk by herself to the bathroom, color in her face, sitting up in bed, the desire for food (she even licked the lid of her applesauce), combing her hair on her own, and setting goals for herself today.

Michelle has set some goals that she would like to accomplish today.  They consist of: taking a shower and washing her hair, go for a walk, eat food and keep it down.  They may sound like simple goals to those of you who have not seen her, but to those of us that have been with her, these are ambitious yet do-able goals.  One goal that she didn't mention, but is understood, GO STEM CELLS, GO!!!

After her shower today!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Michelle's New Dawn Begins

4:oo pm today it happened.  Michelle received the ultimate gift from her brother Gerald...the magical gold as we like to call it.  It was a pretty amazing event to view the tiny little bag of stem cells slowly drip through the IV line over the course of an hour and know that it was saving Michelle's life.  The room was packed with those that could be there for the celebration: Caroline (Michelle's mom), Steve, Rondi, Chelsie and Blair, myself, Karina, Kensington, Karadie, Cindy and the hero of the day; Gerald.

A minimum of 5 million stem cells must be transplanted to be effective, but no more than 10 million to be transplanted at one time.  Over 10 million can actually be counter-productive.  Lucky for both Gerald and Michelle, 17 million stem cells were collected from Gerald on Tuesday and 10 million were transplanted to Shelly today.  The remaining 7 million were frozen for the "just in case" clause.  I really expected the bag to look like blood, dark red.  The magical gold looked more like v8 juice.  It took just over an hour for Michelle to receive all 10 million stem cells.  The only side effect, a slight headache, which really could have been from the tears more than the transplant.

The BMT staff came in singing Happy Birthday with all of us joining in, presenting Shelly with a birthday card and a new fleece blanket wrapped like a birthday cake.  What a celebration it was!

Several doctors came in to check on her during the transplant.  A little more explanation helped us understand the entire process.  Michelle received 2 different types of chemo because different chemos kill the different cells of the body.  The last chemo, the cytoxan kills the bone marrow completely.  It was described like a hit and run car accident.  It did the damage, coming in hitting every cell then slowly killing them over the following 5 to 10 days.  As those cells slowly die off, the new stem cells that were transplanted today wiggle their way through Shelly's body finding their way into her bone marrow and then they do their job, rebuilding.  I don't have a medical degree, so I've explained this the best that I remember it or rather - understood it.  Forgive me if I made some errors in my explanation. 

Aside from the transplant today, it wasn't Shelly's worst day, but it wasn't her best day either.  Her energy has been completely zapped from her body.  The nausea is a little more under control.  She ate a little bit of breakfast keeping it down until 12:30.  Last I heard, she hasn't thrown up anymore today.  That makes it a good day.  As the stem cells graph her energy should slowly start to return. 

Thanks again for all the love, support, and prayers.