Transplant! (Day 0)

Finally, the transplant is DONE and it was all a bit of an anticlimax.  After waiting and worrying about it for months, I woke up this morning feeling positively sick to my stomach.  I don't know why I was so worried, I knew what to expect from the procedure, I knew that it was less exciting than a blood transfusion, but still I couldn't shake that nervous knot in my stomach.

Cameron spent the morning playing happily, we spent about an hour in the playroom, did a few laps and played with a ball until it was time for his pre-medication.  He got a large dose of anti-histamine and an anti-nausea medication, then settled into his new Big Boy Bed for some TV time while we waited for the transplant doctor.  They brought the stem cells into his room and I got to watch them defrost them and draw them into the syringe,  the doctor injected the stem cells into Cameron's central line and the whole procedure was over in about 3 minutes.  Cameron, true to form, was a super star.  He lay still while the doctor put the stem cells in and then, as the smell of the preservative started to circulate, he threw up once and then settled down for a nap.  His blood pressure, oxygen levels and heart rate are closely monitored for the rest of the day, in case he has a reaction to the preservative that is used to store the stem cells. 

We were warned about the smell of the preservative.  It smells like creamed corn that has gone off - sort of a sour smell.  Its not exactly revolting, but it's not that pleasant.  Apparently, our room well smell like that for a few days and so will Cameron - YUK!

So now we wait... and wait... and wait.  Cameron's body needs to take these new stem cells and make bone marrow and white blood cells.  At the moment he has no immune system, and won't have any anti-bodies for about 2-3 weeks.  This is the most crucial time, if he gets sick now, it could be fatal.  We are doing everything we can to keep him away from all germs and keep him healthy while his body recovers enough to fight any infections.  He has been put on an anti-biotic as a preventative measure and was supposed to go on an anti-fungal medication too, but his liver enzymes were a bit high, so they are holding off on the anti-fungal meds for now (which terrifies me!!).  The liver enzymes are showing a downward trend, so hopefully by Monday they will be back to normal and he can go on the medication.

I am desperately hoping that Cameron's counts recover quickly and that the rest of his stay in hospital is as uneventful as possible.