Oct 8th - Couple of really discouraging days

Wednesday night and Thursday morning I was feeling very weak and tired. But I know that the effects from my last chemo are still very much with me so I wasn't surprised when I was feeling winded just from having to shower and get dressed Thursday morning.

I went in to Sloan Kettering ready for the first day of stem cell collection. I had been giving myself the nuepogen injections every morning since my chemo was complete. The doctor said that most people collect the necessary amount of stem cells in 2-3 days, some only need one day. So I had very high hopes that I might be done by this weekend. But, I was only setting myself up for disappointment.

My white blood cell count was too low to even attempt collection. Your count needs to be 6 minimum and mine was .6! And to make matters worse, my red blood cell count was so low that I needed a blood transfusion immediately. I was scared, but more than that I was devastated. When the hell am I going to catch a break? They whisked me away to the 4th floor and gave me a unit of blood. Then I spent the rest of the day at the hospital for various tests and appointments that they had me scheduled for. Finally, at the end of the day, I went to a two hour Stem Cell Transplant Orientation.

I have to say that by the time I was going to the orientation, I felt better already from the blood transfusion. I was actually able to walk 3 blocks between appointments. What a difference some red blood cells can make. (So a big thank you to my anonymous donor, and too all the blood donors out there!)

Today was also disappointing. Showed up again at the hospital to collect and was turned away because my white blood cell count was still to low. But since I had received the transfusion yesterday my red blood cell count was almost normal.

The lab is closed on Saturdays but open Sundays (I know, go figure), so I now have to wait until Sunday to attempt collection. But I'm trying to remain cautiously optimistic that Sunday will be my day!