Catching up...

The title of this post is self explanatory... consider it your warning.

Day 3

(Saturday)

Said Goodbye to his brother and sister

~Mitchell and Annalee~

Was tired and swollen

(and not really in the mood for pictures)

***

DAY 4

Sunday

It started off really really bad.

Ryan went to bed Saturday night with a headache. Since his platelets are low, he cannot have Motrin or Advil, so he went to bed thinking he could sleep it off. Two hours later, he woke up with a really bad migraine. He was very uncomfortable and wanted something for it, they gave him some pain meds and that didn't really help, so they contacted the Dr on call and he wrote for something a little stronger, morphine... it did NOTHING. He spent the entire night feeling horrible and restless. They kept giving him more pain meds and finally he was so medicated he was able to catch a little sleep.

Then morning came and Ryan woke up with an even worse migraine. All he said this morning was,"If I could just get rid of this migraine, today will be a good day."

After tossing and turning all morning long, Ryan was completely miserable and I was really upset. I didn't like that they kept offering more pain meds but not treating the actual problem... the MIGRAINE. I spoke up about getting Ryan some meds to treat the migraine... not the pain. They contacted the Dr to get an order for migraine medicine, within a half hour of getting the meds, Ryan was feeling TONS better.

He slept a good majority of the morning and then woke with a small lingering headache. He received more migraine medicine and after his next nap, it was completely gone.

With the migraine gone, it was time to start enjoying this "GOOD DAY." He was feeling well enough to eat breakfast, shower and even go for a lap around the floor.

But why just one lap...what cut the walk short?

THESE:

Although Ryan has lost most of the water weight...he still has another 10 pounds to go and his poor feet are holding most of that water. Even with his shoes completely loose, his feet are still stuffed into his shoes and it is really painful.

He is starting to get mouth sores, and dealing with some of the other side effects of chemo... but overall, he is managing everything really well. His white blood count is almost completely bottomed out, meaning he has NO immune system. It is at this time that he is very susceptible to risk of infection and illness. He did get a platelet transfusion this afternoon because he was low.

His body is extra tired and weak with no immune system, so after his platelet transfusion, he continued sleeping:

Blanket his sister Jessica made

He ate a decent lunch, slept, had a visit from his sister and also got to see and talk to his two favorite kiddos:

Sometimes visits from the kids can be hard, so we have started doing new things to keep in touch- videos on the camera and visiting via web cam.

Ryan said goodbye to the kids and drifted off...

He had another pretty good day

***

QUESTION:

When will you know if the transplant has worked?

ANSWER:

It varies, there is no set day or time frame. A lot depends on his white blood counts, how he is doing and making sure he is showing now signs of Graft VS Host. It is usually about 14-21 days before we will have any "real" idea of how he is responding to the transplant. He will have another bone marrow biopsy on day 28 and those results will tell us a lot.

***

TRANSPLANT DAY

Mitchell began the day getting his LAST Neupogen shot at the cancer clinic and then headed over to the hospital to come HERE:

He had to have one last consent reading and signing:

Then it was time to change into the cute gown... but first one last pix of Mitch

Love his shirt...

...Love HIM!

Once he was all dressed in UMC's finest.... it was time to start.

Getting his veins ready

marked

prepped

and poked

When most people get IV's put in, the needle makes the initial poke and then a small tubing is inserted and the needle comes out. Mitchell had to sit for 5 LONG hours with needles IN his arms. Having your arms outstretched for an extended period is quite awkward and not being able to move makes it even worse. If Mitchell moved just the slightest bit, he risked blowing a vein and having to start all over again. It wasn't just awkward, but painful as well and because Mitchell is not a fan of blood, he was very nauseas most of the time. The combination of not being able to move, be in pain and be nauseas, made this not only difficult to bear, but difficult to watch.

Mitch's stem cells ready for counting and one last separation

Mitch could have finished a half an hour earlier, but he decided to go an extra half hour to make sure they got all the cells they needed. They needed 5.4 and Mitchell produced 9.6
They will freeze the remaining amount for future use, if needed.

*

Meanwhile, Ryan was up in his room just like any other day.

We did add some things to Ryan's room- more pictures, more encouragement.

the banner says: PEACE, STRENGTH and:

More family love:

It had been a good day.

He ate, slept, showered and walked.

Then 4:15 came...it was time.

The nurses are checking over names and numbers

Nurse Ann holding Ryan's life saving cells

After the bag was hung, we all watched the cells go down the tube and infuse into Ryan.

It was a very emotional moment full of

HOPE, GRATITUDE, and LOVE

*
Thank you Mitchell

We LOVE you

***GO TEAM RYAN***