I LOVE OCTOBER!!!! MY birthday is here, football is in full swing, halloween decorations make me happy, haunted houses are back, the heat is going away, and fall smells make your house smell so good....mmmmm.
Anyways, I met with my doctor......who isn't a new doctor....I'll always have my oncologist.....the new doctor I met is my new bone marrow transplant doctor. She spoke with me about my options and I got some sad news.
FIRST, in order to get a transplant my body has to pass a few tests.....a heart test, lung test, liver test, kidney test....my bone marrow has to be clear of cancer cells.....and my lymph nodes have to be clear of cancer cells too. Once I finish those tests I need a donor. Unfortunately my sister was NOT a match for me so now they're going after my brother to check if he is a match. If he is NOT a match then I'd go on a donor list and wait. during the waiting process I'll go in for chemo every month and pray I don't relapse....because if I do....the WHOLE chemo process that I'm finishing up now.....will start all over again. ugh, can you imagine?
IF my brother is a match....AND i pass all my tests.....I'll go through with a transplant.....when?? Well...that's the tricky part. I'll have TWO options....
option numero ONE.....go through with the transplant ASAP (doctor recommends) and be disconnected from the world for 8 weeks. Yeah, that's all fine and dandy.....BUT.....unfortunately I have things called a job, medical bills, rent, utility bills, my precious cat einstein, and oh yeah, I'd like to eat too. So having all these.....realistically.....i can't afford to go through with a transplant now...unless I go to vegas and win the lottery.....that would be awesome.
which brings me to....
option numero TWO......I can wait until the summer when teachers are off (i love my profession!) and do the whole transplant thing all summer long. The risk with that is......i could relapse between now and then and yes....you guessed it.....I'd have to start chemo treatments ALLLLLLL over again. yuck. until I go back into remission....then I'd immediately get a transplant at that point. But if i don't I'll still be doing once a month chemo for a couple months waiting for summer to come back.
out of those options....i like #2 the best....right now. Also my sister will be back from Afghanistan so I'd have her here with me through it. which is probably what I'll need because the transplant is going to be rough.
NEXT....the procedure it self.....for the donor (hopefully my brother) it's a pretty simple one week (recovery included) procedure. He would have two options...
option #1....get lots of blood drawn........problem is....my brother hates needles so i don't think he'll choose this one.
option #2....be put to sleep.....and the actual bone marrow would be drawn from his hip, he'll be giving up something equivalent to four glasses of water....he'll be a lot more sore from this but this is also the option the doctor prefers.....
after his end of the deal....he'll need a few days off for the "pain" to wear off and he'll be on his happy way.
On my end of the transplant....I'll start with 5 days of intense chemo....much like what i've been getting but a lot more extreme. My blood counts will be knocked down to zero and my immune system....gone. I'll then have a two day fluid flush time....and then the actual "transplant" will happen. The BM will be put inside of me through my picc line and the waiting then begins.....my body will hopefully take the BM and not reject it or see it as foreign....and if it does....it's called grapht vs. host disease.....google it. basically my body might attack itself....this is more common if I get a random person who is a match rather than my brother who would be considered an identical twin match.
I'll spend at least 4-5 weeks in the hospital but it could be as long as 8.....depending how well I do....and with my history....i'll SHOCK everyone and be out in 3 weeks!!! :)
NOW.....cost......transplants are extremely expensive....as in 6 figures or more expensive.....so I'll have TWO more options....
option #1....take it like a man and just be in debt forever and ever.....
option #2.....be part of a research study....take a few extra pills....no big deal.....and it's free. I'll still have the same doctor and everything but i'll just be a lab rat. ;)
for me....i like option #2.....because i'm single oklahoma teacher.....if i never spent any money the rest of my life and never ate....or shopped.....I still wouldn't be able to pay it off with my salary. awesome. but let's just find a donor first then I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
tAND NOW......the sad news......after a transplant.......let's just get this over with......I basically won't be able to have kids. :( :( :(.........so they're referring me to a fertility specialis to look into the option of freezing some eggs for the future. I did not ask if I would be able to physically carry a child if i chose to....i'll write that down on my question list for when I go......hooooowwever......right now, there is a 50/50 chance that I can even produce an egg because of all the chemo going through me now. So until I meet with a specialist.....i won't know anything. pray for me.
well....that's pretty much the short version of my appointment. it's a lot to take in so i'm taking it day by day and trying not to get overwhelmed......I have my friends here to help me get through it and they've all been absolutely wonderful. IDK what I'd do without them....
anyways, it's october so i need to get up and go out and do something. I have a soccer reunion in Tulsa today around 5 that I want to make it to but we'll see what happens. :)
don't sweat the small things......be thankful.....enjoy your day!
BOOMER!!!
:)
kim
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