Today is Lindsey's last day of chemo. They just started it a few minutes ago. Yesterday started out pretty well, but as the day went on, she started experiencing some side effects of the chemo. She's got a pretty wicked headache and her sinuses are aching. They say that is not a common side effect, but it does happen to some people. Last night her arm started aching also, so this morning they did an ultrasound of her arm to see if her blood clot from November is acting up again. We are waiting for the results of that. Hopefully, we'll get through today's chemo without too much trouble, and then that is over with......Thursday she will just rest and recover, and Friday is transplant day.
God-willing, the immune system that this chemo is destroying will begin to rebuild itself within a few weeks of transplant. The term that they use is "engraft", meaning that the stem cells start beginning the job of making bone marrow. Once her stem cells have engrafted, she will be on her way to recovery.
Day One is Transplant Day. We will begin to count up from that day.
The milestones we are working hard to reach are:
- "Stem Cell Transplant Day" ( - Day 1 );
- "Engraftment Day" (somewhere around Day 14-21);
- "Release Day" (somewhere between day 35 and 50) when she doesn't have to go to the clinic every day and is released back to her local oncologist at home;
- "Completion Day" (around day 100) When she is done with treatment; and
- "Wedding Day" (July 13 !)
