This week was another eventful week. I had my highly anticipated Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT) transplant on Tuesday March 19th, which is now known as my re-birthday. The day went well and I was extremely energetic as I awaited my new cells that came from Kira. 

Kira’s procedure went smoothly and they were able to collect more than 1200 ml of cells from her! She was a total trooper and did this all to save my life. I still am in awe at the sacrifices that she made to ensure I can continue to live a long, fulfilling life.

Kira was in the recovery room from around 9am-noon. At that point I was told she was going to head home because she was tired and needed to rest. Rightfully so!! But to my surprise she decided to come see me before they left, and that was the biggest blessing. I cried instantly when I saw her and just hugged and thanked her for being the hero in my story. She handled it all like a champ and went home shortly after. 

My part of this began around 3pm when my cells were delivered to my room. My transplant officially began at 3:59pm and I received the infusion until around midnight. Prior to beginning, I asked the spiritual counselor to come and say a blessing over the cells for me and beautiful words were ushered onto the my new cells. I am so grateful for the science that goes into all of this; without it I would not be alive today. 

The rest of the week was mostly smooth, but I did have my last 2 doses of chemo on Friday and Saturday. The purpose of the post-transplant chemo is to kill any potential T cells that are in Kira’s blood that she donated to me. I was sick both days but I luckily flushed the chemo out pretty quickly, and by Monday I was feeling back to my usual energetic self. My white blood cell counts are all too low to detect at this point which is expected and is all part of this wild journey of mine. 

I am now on day +8 and am doing better than expected. The doctors are all very happy with how well I am managing myself during this time and are pleased with how I am doing. I am hopeful that I will be able to be discharged from the hospital in the next 10-12 days! Then I will continue to be seen outpatient 3-5 times a week for the first few weeks. I am very ready to get out of the hospital and begin my healing journey!