Chemo train

Day 133 (D -5)


Two weeks leading up to hospitalization, I started calling other BMT survivors. The overwhelming coincidence among their experiences was that during the week of preparatory chemo, they felt fine. It was the week after that they began to suffer. I was prepared for the same when I started my regimen. I started to feel hideous on the second day. Chris is hopeful that this is a good sign. Perhaps my bone marrow is effectively dying off in the numbers that my doctors want. I'm constantly nauseated and my appetite has vanished. To combat the nausea, I get a zofran drip. Most instances, the zofran isn't enough and I have to ask for something else. The other drugs that are available make you sleepy, which is fine by me. I'd rather be asleep than nauseated.

I'm having a problem keeping warm right now. It's interfering with my oxygen saturation level. My nurse has informed me that if the numbers don't come up, I'll have to have a chest x-ray. This is ominous and I'm worried.

On the lighter side, my hair is coming back with a vengeance. It's a very light brown and looks like baby's down. It's supposed to fall out once more, and then should come back permanently. It will be interesting to see what color it ends up. My eyebrows have come in black, which is normal for me. They look like they belong to a child because of the way that they've grown in. They should also fall out again.

Chris continues to stand vigil over me. He's worried about my appetite and my lack of energy. I compare this experience to my first round of chemo. I remember being listless and vomiting constantly. This round feels a little similar. I managed to put weight on going into this and this met with my doctor's approval. Now I know why. Food feels like paste in your mouth and you're very sensitive to smells. There are only a few more days of the chemo drugs, then I can get my stem cells. I can't wait.