The Wait Begins

regular
BMT
hospital
Sam received his BMT yesterday. Now we wait for it to take hold.
Author

Colin C.

Published

November 15, 2023

As I begin writing it is 6:30am, Day +1 of Sam’s BMT. This morning I am sitting beside Sam’s bed, to protect him I am all gowned up and masked. Tina and I spent the night in the room and all things considered he is doing well.

At 5:06pm Nov. 14, 2023 Sam started to received his new bone-marrow stem cells. Two hours later the IV drip was complete and the donated cells had been received. As hoped receiving the donor cells was very uneventful. Sam had been pre-medicated with numerous drugs to facilitate receiving these foreign cells. A good number of those drugs also cause drowsiness – so Sam slept through most of the procedure. Although there were many hands ready to jump into action should something go wrong, nothing did! Sam’s vitals were and continue to remain within stable limits. Now we wait.

So far things have gone as well as we could hope but it is still not easy on Sam. His body aches. He often has nausea. Although he is hungry very little appetites him. The pain and anti-nausea meds help but not entirely. Sam has gone through a lot and the most recent steps have literally taken a lot out of him. With organ-transplants surgeons cut out the existing organ and incredibly put in the donated one. With a BMT, it is a mind-trip, but we had to kill a part of Sam to make way for the transplant material. With the way made and the new cells received, we now wait.

In this period of waiting a silent battle wages inside Sam’s body. Vitals (e.g. blood pressure, heart and respiratory rates) are monitored. Chemical metrics are monitored through regular bodily fluids (blood and urine). Over the next weeks the transplant material should establish. The team here has been excellent at passing on information as it come in so we will learn more as we go. Metrics indicating the successful engraftment/establishment of the stem cells are not expected for 2-3 weeks.

Victories and concerns

  • We very thankful for the successful delivery of the donated stems cells! To whoever made this donation I cannot thank you enough.

  • We are thankful to the medical team who have explained things incredibly well and who have worked professionally and confidently. Your clear communication, compassion, and care give us great confidence.

  • We are thankful for all of the messages of encouragement and solidarity that we have received from all of you.

  • We are thankful that it seems Sam’s pain management is now mostly under control, including options to address any spikes in pain.

  • There will be ongoing concern are many known and unknown pitfalls that may present themselves during the BMT process. Potential illness, establishment/engraftment of the donated bone-marrow/ stem cells. Numerous potential complications.

  • It had been amazing to see Sam out from under the influence of chemotherapy. To see him return to strength of mind and to have capacity for more activity. It is hard to see him have this strength pulled away from him.

  • Thankful for friends who have chosen to meet regularly to pray for Sam. If you would like to join them talk with Beth H., Krista C., or contact the Westwood Church office.

  • It is flu season and covid is still out there. If any of us get sick it will add challenges to Sam and the BMT process as he will be entering a phase where he has no immune system for weeks.

  • In preparation for the BMT there are numerous items that need to come together:

    1. Done! Thank you! Due to some timing and logistics we have had to change donors. We are thankful for this current donor who will provide a peripheral blood sample and is a good match for Sam.
    2. Continuing: We are desiring that side effects both immediate and long-term would be limited. Ideally, that there would be no measurable side effects long term.
    3. Done! The medical team has a huge coordination task ahead of them. From our meetings with them it seems all of the pieces are coming together, but with so many moving parts it is easy for things go wrong.
    4. Done! Although it was rough at points the BMT conditioning was successful! These last days leading up to the BMT are very busy with lots of drugs running all day. Concerns during this time are that everything is able to be delivered as planned and that Sam does not have any overly negative reactions to any of this.

  • We are thankful for the support of family and friends.

  • There is always concern as the cancer remains. We long for the day when Sam is clear of this disease.