I think the medicine induced disorientation has finally subsided. Although, I am still pretty tired. But, almost a week later, Adam and I are doing okay. Adam is struggling to eat enough, but otherwise seems to be doing well. He did have an NG tube placed so they could supplement his nutritional needs and it's proving to be more difficult then we would like. The supplement is something akin to baby formula and Adam's gut does not like it. So we keep trying.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, transplant day went very well. I was in surgery about three hours and then it took about four hours for the marrow to infuse. Now with a few days between us and transplant day, I am amazed at not only what modern medicine is capable of, but what the human body can do. We were told that just hours after the infusion, the hemopoietic stem cells had migrated into Adam's bone marrow and begun to set up shop. I am fascinated by the fact that cells that don't belong to Adam know where to go and what to do. It will be a several days before we see any signs of engraftment, but so far, things have gone very well.
From the donor's perspective, it's quite an experience. I still hurt, but it's just tenderness rather then aching. My throat is still pretty scratchy from the breathing tube, but that seems to be getting better as well. It's been a while since I've had surgery and the recovery is harder than I remember. On the bright side, they were able to extract about nine ounces of bone marrow from the back of my hips and the doctors were pretty happy with the quality and sample size of the marrow they pulled. It is encouraging to hear the contentment in their voices as they talk about the process and what it could mean for the eventual outcome.
Now that transplant is complete, we just wait for counts to recover. We pray there will be minimal complications and that Adam will have a speedy recovery. All in all, we are hanging in there. Adam is my champion and continues to amaze me with his submissive patience and cooperation even when he doesn't understand why we can't go home.
Adam the day of transplant. If you look at the bottom of the picture just above the "D" in "ADAM," you can see the bone marrow transfusing through his line which is wrapping around his leg.
This is where the tubing connects to one of the lumens of his central line. He is receiving his bone marrow transfusion.
