Day Pass

Sarah woke up today at about 7:30 and didn't sleep very well last night.  She was up a lot and not feeling the best.  Today was a bit of a tough day for Sarah because of a sick stomach.  It is something the doctors looked at and have put her on medication to treat it.  They did say that it should be gone fairly quickly, whatever that means right?  

At Ten or so Elaine and Dale, and Dad and Margaret were here to say good bye before they went on there way.  Once they left  the nurse gave Sarah some blood as her hemoglobin was low.  After that it was quiet and Sarah decided to relax for awhile.  I took this time to go to Safeway and grab a few groceries for the apartment.  After I got back I did a few loads of laundry, Mom can you believe it?  I made it a long way through my life not knowing how to do laundry, but the streak had to end sometime.  I don't think I shrunk anything either.  At around 4 Sarah phoned me at the apartment and told me she was coming back for supper.  So I walked over to her room and we packed up some things and headed back to the apartment.  That blood really helped with her energy, so she helped fold some laundry while we talked to Linden on skype.  He still seems to be enjoying his time at the Labrecque house.  After supper we hung out for a bit and then made our way back to the hospital where a new drug was waiting for us.  Methotrexate is a chemo that they use in small doses to help with rejection.  She will get this drug four times in the next 12 days.  It works by slowing down the immune system and making the transition a little more smooth.  The next two or three weeks are going to be very tough for Sarah.  She should be feeling okay for this weekend but around Monday mucosis will set in.  This is a very painful part of the transplant, which will effect her mouth all the way down to her stomach.  The way I understand it is the chemo kills the mature cells in her stomach throat and mouth leaving only immature cells.  These cells will take time to grow into mature cells and until they grow it is very painful.  On average the mucosis lasts for about ten days with day three or four being the most painful.  During this time, if needed, Sarah will be hooked up to a pain pump and she will be able to give herself morphine as she needs it.  The doctor told Sarah today that it is going to get harder each day now up until around day 12.  After approximately day 12 things should start to slowly get better.  However around day 21 is when GVHD or graft versus host disease can begin.  This can be as small as a rash or it can become very severe.  I understand that Sarah's chances of getting severe GVHD is reduced due to the fact that her donor is a relative, her donor is young, and that Sarah is young.  So we will pray that Elaine's stem cells accept Sarah's body.  Read that last part over because its kind of interesting right?  Sarah is all settled into her bed watching Private Practice and ready to watch Greys Anatomy.  I hope she has a good sleep tonight!

K

Thanks so much for all the comments, Sarah and I are constantly reloading to see the newest comment.  If you are reading this blog and haven't left a comment yet, its your turn!  Even if you just write your name.  We are able to see how many people look at the blog as well as what country you are from so we know who you are.  Also, I don't know how you do it Mom but you get me every time with your comments!  Maybe its because I am your kid right?  

 This is Sarah's hospital room.  A double room, all to herself.

Have you seen a prettier bald woman?