DAY ZERO IS FINALLY HERE

Today is day zero. The rebirth of Amanda’s immune system took about 25 minutes. The stem cells looked a lot like blood but a little lighter in color and thicker in consistency. The thickness made for high blood pressure and a bit of a headache for a moment, but passed quickly enough. From there she rewarded herself with some fudge, brownie, double chocolate, truffle ice cream, then promptly fell asleep. Sleep has become the best way for her to make the time pass more rapidly. If she plays her cards right, she might well turn this potentially six week stay into about a week and a half stay. At least I hope it’ll feel that way.

Now we play the waiting game again. The goal now is to stay germ-free for long enough that neutrophils return and can fight off any infection causing germs. On day 21 she’ll have her first post-BMT bone marrow biopsy. They’re likely to see X% of Donor #1, X% of Donor #2, and hopefully 0% of Amanda, but there may be a little left. No matter, within weeks Donor #1 or #2 should become the dominant and hopefully the only remaining and detectable immune system she’s got. The CSA and MMF will help prevent GVHD in the meantime. … Just look at all the acronyms we’re learning together. This has been quite the learning experience indeed. We’re sure to learn much more before this is all said and done.