| March 4, 2004 Thursday Day 0 Paige continues to have good days. After four days of high-dose chemotherapy and three days of rest, Paige's previously harvested stem cells were given back to her this morning about 11:30 a.m. The procedure is quite simple and took about 20 minutes. She did have some nausea and vomiting during the infusion. It's common since the preservative used with the stem cells give it a horrible taste and smell. They say she will excrete the odor for about 24 hours. Now that the transplant is completed, the days and weeks of waiting begin. From this point on, the days will be referred to by numbers. Today, the day of transplant, is considered Day 0. The ten to twenty-one days immediately following the transplant is the most critical time period. The hige dose chemotherapy used to destroy the diseased cells also destroyed the stem cells in the bone marrow, temporarily crippling her body's immune system. Thus, the infusion of stem cells is required to "rescue" from the effects of the high-dose chemotherapy regimen. Until the transplanted stem cells migrate to the cavities of the bones, engraft and begin producing normal blood cells, she will be very susceptible to infection and excessive bleeding. Although the engraftment may be as soon as Day 14, we're told it's not unusual for this to happen after day 30. Multiple antibiotics and blood transfusions will be given to help prevent and fight infection. Platelet transfusions will help prevent bleeding. They will do daily blood work during this period to determine whether the stem cells have engrafted (white blood cell counts will rise) and also to monitor the effects of the chemotherapy on her major organs. Once the stem cells begin producing normal blood cells, she will gradually taken off the antibiotics, and the need for blood and platelet transfusion will decline. To help with WBC production, she was started on daily injections of Neupogen to stimulate the production of white blood cells. We pray that Paige continues to have good days and that she stays free of infection while the stem cells do thier job. Again, we thank all of you for your continued prayers, support and friendship. Love, Andy, Sandi & Paige |
| Labwork WBC (white blood cells) 0.7 (700) Hgb (hemoglobin) 11.3 (received blood yesterday for a Hgb of 7.8) Platelets 198 ANC 700 |
 |
 |