We went to the stem cell center early this morning for Mary Jo's Neupogen shot. They also checked her incision where the Hickman catheter was placed on Friday. She is still feeling a little bit of pain in that area. Mainly because they had to tunnel through some muscle tissue to install it.
We also did a little sightseeing at Centennial Park and on Vanderbilt's campus not far from where we are staying. It seemed like everywhere we went there were speed humps which even going over slowly caused Mary Jo discomfort from the surgery.
Tomorrow, we will be back at the stem cell center early for another shot. It appeared that they were giving Mary Jo a larger dose of the Neupogen than what she was getting after the chemo treatments at home. The goal is to get those stem cells mobilized by Wednesday.
They checked her vitals today and all of her blood levels are great. The nurse said that the white blood cell count was especially good. She told us something that I had never thought of before. After the BNCU chemo treatment on the fifth day before her stem cells are infused back into her body, her white count will be zero because the BNCU will have wiped out her bone marrow. They have to take you down to zero, in order to build you back.
It seems like everyday I hear something new about the transpant process that I had not thought of before. It is truly amazing and a Godsend to lymphoma and leukemia patients who for many a stem cell transplant is the last hope.
Today over 17, 000 transplants are carried out annually in the U.S,. and over 50,000 worldwide, and they are increasing each year.
May God bless the transplant patients, their caregivers, and the medical teams throughout the world who are working to give people like us hope.
Here's some pictures that we took at Centennial Park and Vanderbilt today.
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