We made our way to St. Francis today for our "orientation" appointment. The transplant team at the cancer center told us it would be alot of "hoopla" and they were right.
We arrived to the transplant floor only to be greeted by a few dazed and confused nurses (hence today's blog title). Momma's paperwork wasn't there nor was she in the hospital system -- not the nurses fault but there was quite a bit of confusion to start. I was a little put off by it all but they were super sweet so I forgave them pretty quickly.
After signing paperwork and reviewing her medical history (aka hoopla) we got a brief tour of the stem cell collection room. Lucky for us the collection room is brand new and furnished with huge leather heated recliners with built in television monitors. Transplant patients had to spend collection days in regular hospital rooms in the past - yuck. The collection process (also known as apheresis) typically takes 1-5 days and can last 3-6 hours per day. We're shooting to get those 10 million cells in less than 2 days! We also got a quick "here's how it works" of the apheresis machine. The machine separates stem cells from the red cells, white cells, and platelets. Pretty amazing technology.
We return to the cancer center tomorrow for an appointment with the oncologist and to review final details regarding the transplant.
Huge thanks to those of you who are keeping up with us. Your thoughts and prayers mean so much.
Fighting Like A Girl
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