Another round over and prep for harvesting

End of round 3 and only one more to go before the transplant process begins—Thank God!! Each cycle is taking its toll on Kevin and leaving him more debilitated. The nausea and profound fatigue and muscle aches keep escalating with each round. Because of this, the appetite disappears and the weight keeps dropping.

When I arrived at Children’s today, the physician told me Kevin would need 3 days of continuous IV fluids—1st 24/hrs of Mesna flush to remove all of the chemo from his kidneys and liver, but then another 2 days of fluid for dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. Hopefully after 3 days the nausea and chemo aftertaste will be diminished, so his appetite will return.

We were able to set it up with 2 home CAD IV pumps and all of the fluid bags to be provided per Option Care. So for the next 3 days, Kevin will be lugging a large heavy duffle bag filled with a pump and a fluid bag wherever he goes—which won’t be any farther then the triangle between his bed, the bathroom, the couch, the bathroom, his bed, the bathroom, and ext. You get the picture!

Everything is a go to harvest his stem cells in about a week. Starting tomorrow afternoon Kevin will have to take 2 injections of GCSF in his stomach each day to stimulate his bone marrow to make more stem cells so they can get enough for the harvesting. The side effect of these GCSF injections will be bone pain similar to what he experienced when he took Neulasta after the first round. GCSF is like Neulasta, but more potent. Despite the anticipated pain these massive doses of daily GCSF will cause, it is the only way to get the stem cells up high enough to harvest. Dr. Bendel loaded Kevin up with Dilaudid and Vicodin to keep the pain under control. It usually isn’t bad until the cells really start proliferating, about 2-4 days after you start the injections. So keep Kevin in your prayers. He probably won’t be a comfortable camper!