Unbelievable! I can’t believe it has been a week since I got my stem cells back! All week those little baby stem cells have been regenerating all of my blood cells that are deficient. They have been hard at work building back up my white blood cells that lack the memory of my old white blood cells that were responsible for destroying the myelin around my nerves. Along with the large boost of stem cells that I got back on transplant day, I have also been getting daily Filgrastim shots to boost stem cell production even more.
Just this evening the bone pain returned in my hips, back, legs, shoulders and elbows. This is a great sign that the shots are working. Thankfully I only have two more days of shots left though because this bone pain gets intense really quickly!
Tomorrow morning I’ll get another blood sample followed by a consultation at the clinic to see how I’m progressing through neutropenia. Hopefully my numbers are starting to go back up towards the normal ranges, but if not, I’ll get another test on Wednesday. Once my blood counts are back up then I’ll be released and ready to go home on Saturday!
Before I leave Mexico, I’ll be receiving a large infusion of a drug called Rituximab. The goal of that anti-lymphocyte antibody infusion is to kill off any rogue B-Cells that might be floating around. This just further enhances the effectiveness of the whole treatment. This will be the last thing that I will need to get done before I leave and when I get it depends on my recovery out of neutropenia.
It is hard to believe that this is my last week here! Things have gone so smoothly and I am so glad I was able to come here and receive this life changing treatment! This month has gone by so fast but man oh man am I excited to go home and be with my family! I can’t wait to breathe in that fresh crisp autumn Michigan air! I miss fresh air.
Until tomorrow, my friends, adios!
Adios, MS! 