M
MARIPOSA
Guest
He leaves Monday afternoon. Tuesday-Monday he has chemo and Tuesday the 21st is rest day. The 22nd is the day of the transplant. I am leaving work around 10 AM on Tuesday and stay at the hospital until Monday after Thanksgiving. Dan is leaving Thanksgiving evening to go home and take a break and trade places with me the following Monday and I will go back to work on Tuesday…got that? Good. Test is tomorrow
WHAT A PATIENT FEELS DURING THE TRANSPLANT
A bone marrow transplant is a physically, emotionally, and psychologically taxing procedure for both the patient and family. A patient needs and should seek as much help as possible to cope with the experience. "Toughing it out" on your own is not the smartest way to cope with the transplant experience.
The bone marrow transplant is a debilitating experience. Imagine the symptoms of a severe case of the flu - nausea, vomiting, fever, diarrhea, extreme weakness. Now imagine what it's like to cope with the symptoms not just for several days, but for several weeks. That approximates what a BMT patient experiences during hospitalization.
During this period the patient will feel very sick and weak. Walking, sitting up in bed for long periods of time, reading books, talking on the phone, visiting with friends or even watching TV may require more energy than the patient has to spare.
Complications can develop after a bone marrow transplant such as infection, bleeding, graft-versus-host disease, or liver disease, which can create additional discomfort. The pain, however, is usually controllable by medication. In addition, mouth sores can develop that make eating and swallowing uncomfortable. Temporary mental confusion sometimes occurs and can be quite frightening for the patient who may not realize it's only temporary. The medical staff will help the patient deal with these problems.
HANDLING EMOTIONAL STRESS
In addition to the physical discomfort associated with the transplant experiance there is emotional and psychological discomfort as well. Some patients find the emotional and psychological stress more problematic than the physical discomfort.
Note from Mariposa ~ these are excerpts from several journal entries by Cindy recently. Elliott has one final blood test that will determine if this schedule is still a go. We're all holding our breath that this is so. This weekend he is having his early birthday celebration. One thing that I would like to add is that a young lady named Paige underwent this same procedure a little over a week ago. Her mom, Tina has shared a very detailed description of the process and Paige's reactions on her Caring Bridge website and Dan and Cindy have been very inspired by her progress. If you would like to read about exactly what is in store for Elliott, please visit
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/paigehaney and browse through her past journal entries. Feel free to drop by and say hi to this very outstanding young cancer patient as well.
So circle Monday on your calendars as the day Elliott begins this last phase of his bone marrow transplant and hopefully early Thanksgiving morning will be the day that he actually receives his new life saving marrow from the angel who is offering this to him.
Hugs, Mariposa
WHAT A PATIENT FEELS DURING THE TRANSPLANT
A bone marrow transplant is a physically, emotionally, and psychologically taxing procedure for both the patient and family. A patient needs and should seek as much help as possible to cope with the experience. "Toughing it out" on your own is not the smartest way to cope with the transplant experience.
The bone marrow transplant is a debilitating experience. Imagine the symptoms of a severe case of the flu - nausea, vomiting, fever, diarrhea, extreme weakness. Now imagine what it's like to cope with the symptoms not just for several days, but for several weeks. That approximates what a BMT patient experiences during hospitalization.
During this period the patient will feel very sick and weak. Walking, sitting up in bed for long periods of time, reading books, talking on the phone, visiting with friends or even watching TV may require more energy than the patient has to spare.
Complications can develop after a bone marrow transplant such as infection, bleeding, graft-versus-host disease, or liver disease, which can create additional discomfort. The pain, however, is usually controllable by medication. In addition, mouth sores can develop that make eating and swallowing uncomfortable. Temporary mental confusion sometimes occurs and can be quite frightening for the patient who may not realize it's only temporary. The medical staff will help the patient deal with these problems.
HANDLING EMOTIONAL STRESS
In addition to the physical discomfort associated with the transplant experiance there is emotional and psychological discomfort as well. Some patients find the emotional and psychological stress more problematic than the physical discomfort.
Note from Mariposa ~ these are excerpts from several journal entries by Cindy recently. Elliott has one final blood test that will determine if this schedule is still a go. We're all holding our breath that this is so. This weekend he is having his early birthday celebration. One thing that I would like to add is that a young lady named Paige underwent this same procedure a little over a week ago. Her mom, Tina has shared a very detailed description of the process and Paige's reactions on her Caring Bridge website and Dan and Cindy have been very inspired by her progress. If you would like to read about exactly what is in store for Elliott, please visit
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/paigehaney and browse through her past journal entries. Feel free to drop by and say hi to this very outstanding young cancer patient as well.
So circle Monday on your calendars as the day Elliott begins this last phase of his bone marrow transplant and hopefully early Thanksgiving morning will be the day that he actually receives his new life saving marrow from the angel who is offering this to him.
Hugs, Mariposa