Day 9: D0 Happy Birthday!

Today was the big transplant day, D0 (D-zero) as they wrote on her whiteboard, which means that Krista gets to celebrate a whole new birthday, again. She happens to share this birthday with our youngest son, Trevor, who is 12 today.  Happy birthday, Trevor! Sorry we couldn't be there to celebrate with you.  Mammaw and Pappaw got him a cake and sang Happy Birthday with us on Skype, so we sort of felt like we were there.

Krista had a marginally better day today. At least there were no tears because of the pain. But she was frustrated with how groggy she was feeling. It's actually a bit difficult to explain why she was so groggy since the actual amount of pain killers she was getting was less than on previous days. Since she was in control of the pain killers, she hasn't been using it as much as she is allowed. Her blood counts are pretty low though, and that can make her weak. Just not usually uncontrollably sleepy. She would fall asleep sitting up!

Maybe it was because of the anti-nausea meds she has been taking? There was a lot of the wrong kind of color today; lots of throwing up, that is. But that was probably due to Krista being so constipated. She success moving it out twice today, thanks to the addition of prune juice to her lunch and dinner. Still, it feels like something's not moving higher up. Once that gets cleared out I think she'll feel a lot better.

The stem cells arrived right on time and her nurse, Richard, was excited because he was going to be able to administer it before his shift ended at 7 pm.  Here's some pictures of how it happened...

Prepping the patient...

Krista giving her best smile for how awful she feels...

Richard hanging the bag of stem cells...

Here's what the stem cells look like up closer...

Stem cells starting to go in...

The last of the stem cells flushing out...

It is amazing how different this transplant was than the first one. There was no parade of doctors, nurses, and med students; just the nurse. The bag of stem cells was larger and filled with fresh cells, not frozen. The nurse said that this has something to do with the defrosting process -- it's easier to defrost a smaller amount. The cells had no preservatives, where frozen cells require preservatives. That is why she needed the lollipop last time -- to counter the reaction to the preservatives. Last time, she was wide awake and alert; this time she was drowsy and even fell asleep after it was over. Last time, the reaction she had caused her nose to fill up with water and she had to pee only after being flushed out with a strong diuretic to keep her from drowning in her own water; this time she had to pee repeatedly in the middle of the transplant because she felt like something was pushing on her bladder (probably related to the constipation). So far so good!

Now, we'll have to wait and see how the new cells get along with her body. A 10 out of 10 match makes for good changes of success, but there are so many variables it's impossible to tell until it happens. It's ultimately up to the Lord to make it happen. Lord, bring healing to your precious daughter Krista!

May the Lord grant all your requests.
Now this I know:
The Lord gives victory to his anointed.
He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary
with the victorious power of his right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.
Lord, give victory to the king!
Answer us when we call!
(Psalm 20:5b-9)