Adventures at Roswell

Figured I'd post now, before I forget everything that I've done up to this point.  So... came up to Buffalo on Thursday with mom and checked into the Hope Lodge.  It's a big old Victorian house that was built in the 1800s and is run by the American Cancer Society, located a few blocks away from Roswell.  Didn't do much on Thursday night (I don't think... I'm already forgetting apparently, LOL).  Friday I had to be there at 7am for blood work (which didn't get drawn until over an hour later).  I was supposed to get my Neupogen shot after that and be monitored for an hour (to make sure I didn't have a reaction) but since I was behind schedule I was sent off for my physical therapy assessment.  Holy crap, am I out of shape!  My legs were sore for 2 days after some pretty basic exercises, but since I really don't have any deficiencies I passed it pretty easily.  Following PT was my much anticipated dental exam (because there would be nothing worse than a crappy report given my profession) which consisted of a panoramic x-ray, two bitewings and and exam by the Dr.  And yes, I passed, LOL.  Following that I had a bone density scan (which was a first for me).  Just had to lay on a table and have some pictures snapped... piece of cake.  So at around 11:30 I went back to the BMT clinic for my Neupogen shot.  Which is actually two shots (in the arm) because the dosage is too large to fit in one syringe.  Awesome.  I had Neupogen in the hospital over Christmas, so they didn't make me wait very long afterward.  Since I was done for the day and it was pretty early, mom and I decided to go to a movie.  We both wanted to see Insurgent, but I twisted her arm and made her see it in IMAX 3D (totally worth it!!).  Anyway, did some shopping, went out to dinner and back to the house early cause we were both tired and there's a 10:00 curfew... no bar hopping for us, LOL.  Had to be back at Roswell on Sat and Sun at 8am for more Neupogen.  We basically spent the weekend driving around the area, getting some groceries and killing time.  

Monday was a blast... starting with my shots at 7:30.  On the plus side, since I was having my central line put in the next day, I had to temporarily stop my Lovenox injections... wo-hoo!!  At 8:00 I had my pulmonary function test... not my favorite thing, but I was told I did well.  I only had one section of it that made me a bit lightheaded.  After that, I had an echocardiogram of my heart done, and that went well too.  The tech was an absolute riot.  I finished that around 10:30, and then mom and I went back to the house, hung out for a little bit and then drove out to Hamburg cause there was a yarn shop I wanted to check out.  Got a quick bite to eat at a little diner and headed back to Roswell for my afternoon shot of Mozibil (to help push the stem cells out into my blood).  That one went in my stomach (which is destroyed from all the Lovenox injections) and I had to wait for half an hour before I could come back to the house.  Tried to go to bed early, but I've been sleeping like crap, so it didn't help much.  Had to be back 7am for my shots and my central line placement.  I was not looking forward to that at all... with all the issues I've had with my PICC line, I was a little nervous.  They gave me a Xanax to take due to my anxiety and after waiting around for a little bit it was time to head in.  It went pretty quickly, but it was not the most pleasant thing I've had done this week.  They put it in on the right side by my collarbone, and it has two lumens coming out of it that they use for collecting my stem cells.  It's held in with a stitch and covered with a dressing.  I'll have it removed before I go home.  Much to my delight, that blasted PICC line was removed from my arm (if I knew how easy it was to take it out, I would have done it my damn self a month ago!!).  The skin on my arm is a mess though.  The nurse was very surprised at how irritated everything is.  I have blisters and a lot of raw, red skin from the plastic piece that held the line in place.  Anyway... after the line was placed it was off to the apheresis department to get hooked up to the collection unit.  It's pretty amazing what they can do these days.  I was hooked up to it for about 4 hours (did some sleeping) and was told I'd find out how much they collected the next day.  I had to hang around for my afternoon shot and then we just came back to the house.  All that crap makes for a very long day, and not sleeping much doesn't help.  

So... we're caught up to today.  Went in at 7 for my shots, and then went straight down to get hooked up for collection.  And then I got the news... they had only collected .64 (volume of stem cells) from me on the first day.  I need to be at a 2 by Friday or all sorts of crap is going to be screwed up.  Usually the first day of collection is the best.  Joy.  Anyway, I was done with today's collection around 12:45 (had to hang out for a bit cause my blood pressure was low) and then we were going to just walk around and check things out.  Or not... hello nausea out of nowhere.  So, back to the clinic I went to get some Zofran (luckily it worked, most of the time it doesn't).  I had appointments scheduled with social work and the dietician for later that afternoon but they moved them up a little bit so I could get them done.  I had to be evaluated by social work (I think I passed, LOL) and got a whole crapload of material to read.  There are also a lot of restrictions with my diet during and after transplant that the dietician had to go over with my mom and I.  Luckily I already follow most of them, so hopefully it won't be too big of an adjustment.  After we were done with that we just walked around until it was time for another shot.  And then I got my results from this morning... a whopping .38.  So yep, after two days I'm at 1.02.  Not looking too good.  I see the doctor tomorrow, so I'll get more info then.  But at least I'm done with tests.  

All in all, the week hasn't been too bad.  I've met some really great people, both staying here at Hope Lodge and at Roswell.  I am amazed at some of the horrible shit these people have gone through (and I can't even imagine going through it), and I'm in awe of the strength they and their families have.  It really makes me realize how lucky I am.  Crossing my fingers for a good collection tomorrow (gonna have a chat with my stem cells tonight) missing my family and my (now 10 month old!!) baby.  Thanks again for all the well wishes, positive thoughts and prayers.  XO