Lani Brumley

Well as most of you are well aware I was admitted to the hospital on 3/10 and the journey started off rough. 

The first 3 days I was administered an infusion called ATG (Rabbit) that is intended to go in and destroy my T cells  (part of my white blood cells) to prepare my body for transplant and help reduce the chance of rejection. 

The first 3 days I had 6 hour infusions that went mostly well. I got a little sick from it, but all relatively minor symptoms like fatigue, nausea, and joint pain. Then the next 5 days I received 2 different kinds of chemotherapy designed to again go in and destroy/kill the rest of my white blood cell lines. The chemo really wore me dow,  and by Thursday I was pretty miserable and felt more hopeless than I ever have in my life. It was very hard to process those emotions especially in the beginning of my stay in the hospital. As my mom and sisters described it, my eyes were dull and void of life. I am typically a very upbeat, energetic soul with lots of life to give, and for a few days that me was no longer here. It was hard for me and for the people who love me to witness. 

Fortunately, by Saturday mid morning I started to feel hopeful again, and my lovely husband Greg came by to support me through the day and night. A little something about me is that my guilty pleasure is Coca Cola. Saturday my husband brought me an ice cold Coke from a fast food joint and let me tell you that really lifted my spirits—as silly as it may seem. 

I also got to FaceTime my sister Tamara and her beautiful little baby souls (Fawn and Melo) and that really helped lift my spirits even more. I continued to feel good the rest of Saturday and then Sunday I felt mostly okay. The nausea definitely settled in by Sunday evening and I was throwing up everyday at least once. 

On Sunday I received my last dose of chemo prior to transplant (Post transplant on days +3 and +4 I will receive 2 more doses of chemo to help prevent Graft vs Host disease). Then on Monday (3/18) I received 2 rounds of total body radiation. I was anxious about that because of the long term side effects, but it went smoother than expected and the radiology techs were super great and played some good old Taylor Swift for me. Again, those of you who know me know I have been a fan of her since I was 8 years old, when one of my closest childhood friends Alicia introduced me to her music. Anyway I only mention that because of how much her music can soothe me in times of distress. I had some pretty intense salivary gland inflammation that evening but by Tuesday morning that has mostly resolved (thank goodness!!). 

Now as I write this I am only an hour away from receiving my brand new immune system from my amazing little sister, Kira. She underwent a very intense procedure to extract stem cells from her bone marrow that she is donating to save my life and give me a second chance at life. I will continue to keep this updated as I can but just wanted to say thank you to all of my supporters who continue to follow my story and journey and who have sent me so much love along the way. The positive vibes, energy, and prayers are being felt and I can tell you I am doing so much better than the doctors could have hoped for. Here’s to many good days ahead and a long life full of love, blessings, and health!