Wife headed for SCT

Hi again and great to hear she has had the transplant and everything is going well. The next few weeks is a matter of waiting for her new cells to take control and re-build her all new immune system.

Lets look for no bumps on the road and she gets home with no fuss.

Hi Travt,

I am glad to hear that your wife has got to SCT, this is great news and definitely something to celebrate. I saw it as the first, tentative step to a new immune system and a healthier future. There can definitely be bumps along the way but here’s hoping your wife is on the right path now and things go smoothly from here on in. Please keep us updated as to how she is getting along.

Greg

Hi Greg and Mike. First bump in the road here. Fever. Waiting on blood cultures, chest xray results. Did you guys deal with fevers very soon after transplant? Hard to imagine how an infection can get started just sitting in a hospital bed of all places. But I know it happens all the time. 

A yes from me on both my SCTs and the actual case was never found “par for the course” one consultant said “we are in control - trust us”

Yes you would think a SCT unit would be 100% safe, but when you have no immune system a little bug can be enough to kick things off.

It’s even possible to get a fever with no infection, as a side effect from all that chemo! But generally the teams are incredibly skilled at keeping any chance of infection at bay and acting fast should they suspect any. They would be administering antibiotics as standard anyway.

Daughter remembers getting a chest X-ray one day as she was coughing a bit; but actually it was a response to the tiny cilia in her airways having been damaged by the chemo so the cough was to shift her normal mucus. Her nurses had obviously noticed and alarm bells rung behind the scenes! She was fine!

Hugs xxx

Thanks! Good to hear it’s normal!

So the roller coaster definitely isn’t over. Poor thing is dealing with a lot of blood loss, multiple blood and platelet transfusions a day. Looking at a possible ablation procedure soon if the bleeding doesn’t stop. 

And now GVHD is starting up. A nasty rash around her neck, back, and shoulders. Her thumbs are swollen and inflamed. They have upped her Prograf to try to help. 

On a brighter note, she is starting to see neutrophils again and WBC is climbing slowly.  She was also able to get the feeding tube removed. (Her mucositis was extremely bad). Really hoping her own body can heal the bleeding. She is not very open to the ablation procedure. 

She really wanted to be home by Halloween, but now her spirits are waning and I’m doing my best to keep her from spiraling down. 

At least her counts are rising, in a day or two she should begin to feel physically better though weak and probably still miserable in spirits. GvHD can cause horrid effects though, but her team will be ready to help with meds.

hang on in there! It will get better.....
sending hugs to you both xxx

Hi Travt,

I’m really sorry to read how your wife is doing, she is definitely having a rough time at the moment. The description of it being a rollercoaster makes it sound fun, but it’s not, the ups and downs can be nightmarish at times and sometimes all you can do is hold on and ride it. This sounds like one of these times. You mentioned the mental side of things and this is so difficult at these times also - I’m hoping the hospital has good support on that front as patients definitely need it when things are tough. Look after yourself too, all of this is very demanding on you as well.

Here’s hoping you get some really good positive developments soon. Keep hanging in there.

Greg

Sorry to hear about the continuing bumps on the road but there is some good news in your post and let’s hear more as the days go on.