October 15 Update

Written by Dawn.

Yesterday, we had a family meeting with my medical team about my upcoming stem cell transplant. Today I had my regular labs and an in-person appointment with Dr. A and the stem cell coordinator, Megan. It's been a busy week, and everything is coming together for the procedure! I'm excited, but I know I'll be pretty sick before I'm feeling better. 

I was supposed to have my regular immunotherapy tomorrow but that was cancelled today! Although I was willing to still have the procedure, it doesn't seem to be helping, and honestly I'd rather have the time to rest up, preparing for the transplant. So hearing it was cancelled was a happy moment today! This means that I'll likely be able to attend church for two more Sundays until my official "hibernation" begins. 


It's hard to summarize everything we've been told over the past couple of days, but a few things stand out. One question I asked today was, "What happens if the transplant fails?" We learned that because I am receiving my own stem cells back (called an autologous transplant), there is nothing for my body to reject. My own cells are not "foreign" to my body, so this would be an extremely rare situation. 


Seeing the transplant schedule shows that it is approximately 3 very intense weeks with 3 months of recovery time. Those 3 weeks WILL be hard with the side effects of a heavy dose of chemotherapy (10x as strong as "regular" chemo), and this will likely include vomiting & diarrhea and possible mouth sores. As long as I'm okay, I will be having the transplant as an outpatient - which will be very hard going back and forth while feeling so sick, BUT they say patients do better being in their own homes while they recover. This also reduces my risk of infection, which I'll be more prone to. This is because I will have a "baby" immune system and little protection for about 3 months. Even a small infection can send me to the hospital!


I feel at peace about it all - I think we all do. It was frightening & overwhelming at first, but now that it's been on our radar for a while, we're excited about the prospects. The biggest reason for this treatment is to hopefully allow for a deeper and longer "remission" from the amyloidosis. In our experience, the word "remission" isn't typically used - we hear "stable" instead. 


Please pray for:

🍂"Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow"! (from my favourite hymn - "Great is Thy Faithfulness"

🍂Wisdom for my medical team

🍂Strength for my caregivers, especially Andrew & Alyssa

🍂That the light of Jesus might shine brightly through me when I go through this. 

🍂That I will look to the Lord for His strength when I feel discouraged. 


Because it will be a very busy time for everyone, we won't be making daily updates, but will post on the critical days (Day 1 - chemo and Day 3 - the Transplant) and updates when there's something to say! 


Thank you for all your support in this long journey! 


“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures. 

He leads me beside still waters. 

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of 

righteousness for His name's sake.”

Psalm 23:1-3


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