MY SPACE...THE CARE GIVERS CORNER

  Thankfully I was allowed to stay in Guy's room for the length of his stay.  My cot was
   in a corner where I felt safe.  No one could sit on me or accidentally give me a shot.  Actually once that almost happened.  Guy and I were taking a nap together in his bed when he woke up before I did. So he slipped out for a brief walk in the hall with his IV pole.  A new nurse was on the floor that day to give Guy a shot and saw my hair  sticking out from under the covers.  Voices woke me up asking, "Who is this, is this Mr Powers?  If so, where is his IV pole?"  Every patient was tethered to an IV pole.

  We'll talk about the IV poles later.

EPIDEMIC PROTOCOL

                                THE FLU OUTBREAK REQUIRED EPIDEMIC PROTOCAL             
                                           

   

                          The  Flu out break on the Fourth Floor required everyone to wear mask, gloves and surgical gown at all times.  I caught the flu and had to leave the hospital.  When I was allowed to return Guy couldn't recognize me.   Everyone on the floor looked alike.

NECESSARY SEPARATION

FLU ON THE FOURTH FLOOR

   Flu broke out on the Transplant floor. It was a serious situation for all.  Guy caught the flu that went into pneumonia and so did I.   Doctor Who sent me home until I was well.  It was several weeks before I was allowed back on the fourth floor.  So all Guy and I could do was cough on the phone at each other.

THE HOSPITAL VISIT

                                      THE GRAND CHILDREN CAME FOR A VISIT
   Due to the risk of infection Guy was not allowed to see the grandchildren for several months.  Finally Doctor Who gave  permission for the children to visit but every one had to wear a mask.  The children took on the appearance of Ninja Turtles.  They couldn't really SEE each other but they all enjoyed their visit.

OUR NEW FRIEND

                                                Larry was our first friend on the Transplant floor.

Larry was the first of many patience we would become close to on our stemcell transplant journey.  Larry fought in Vietnam and now he was fighting a different war.  The little print gown and knit beanie did not distract from this seasoned warrior and his determination to win.

MOVING BACK IN

Guy would be sent home for a couple of days every few weeks  for several reasons.  Insurance requirements, rotating in another patient, etc.  Each time we had to move all our stuff home and then haul all our stuff  back into the hospital and even register all over again.  Each time we returned we were assigned  a different room.  Over the ten months I think we stayed in almost every room.
                    
  Needless to say we moved back and forth several times. IN and OUT / IN and OUT / IN and OUT!

MEDS MEDS MEDS

During the transplant process  Dr. Who would send us home for a few days for a rest  and to start a new patient on the floor.   Each day that Guy was at home we had to drive fifty miles back to the Cancer Center as an out patient for blood test, transfusions and infusions, etc.  It was anything but rest.
While at home I was in charge of his medications. In this drawing it may look like we are playing chess (we wish) but we are trying to decide which pill to take next.  Guy actually had well over twenty medications.

DOCTOR WHO?

                                                           MEET DOCTOR WHO ?
  DOCTOR WHO? was quite a character.  He liked to make a fashion statement with his ties.  Notice his tie in this drawing.  You may think the pattern on this tie is 100s of fried eggs.  Wrong.  This is a repeating pattern of  stemcells printed on silk.  Each day of the week Dr. Who had a different tie.  On Monday his tie might be a pattern made of cream colored platelets on a navy back ground or Tuesday white blood cells on red. My favorite tie was his red blood cells on light yellow that always looked nice with his blue pinstripe shirt.

MEET MISS IV POLE

    Over time Guy's IV Pole morphed into Miss IV(sexy) Pole.  She became sassy and proud of herself.  Miss IV was always with him, she ate with him, walked laps with him and even slept with him. When I realized I was becoming jealous of his IV pole I knew I needed to go home for a rest.  Actually some patients would give their IV poles wigs and paper plate faces. The nurses assured me my reaction was common. I wasn't as crazy as some said.

WARRIORS WITH WEAPONS

                  MEET OUR FELLOW WARRIORS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CANCER
There were chairs at the end of the hall next to the only window.  This was the meeting place for those who were able to walk the halls.  After a certain amount of chemo all the patients male and female began to look alike, at least for a while.  The lady in the center has managed to declare her femininity.

IV Pole Christmas Tree

                    Guy and I were in the Blood and Marrow Transplant Unit over Christmas 2007.

When Guy's nurses were adjusting his IV pole it looked like they were decorating a Christmas tree.  It even had  twinkle lights. At one point Guy had two IV poles and well over twenty IV bags. Notice the IV hooks form a star at the top.

TRANSFORMATION ON THE TRANSPLANT FLOOR

GUY'S TRANSFORMATION

   Once you have committed to a stem cell transplant you are admitted to The Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant floor.'    
   Then two major things happen :
        (1)   You are tethered to an IV pole that will be your constant companion, best friend and weapon for the fight.  It is sometimes your walking stick for balance and sometimes your dancing partner. This is good.
        (2)   Second your looks will began to change at least for a while and this will force you to sort  your priorities.  Your vanities will dissolve into understanding & compassion for all others.  This is good.
    You have already seen Guy with his IV pole so now I'll show you his transformation.  We had a web site at the time where I posted his progress.  When he lost the hair on his head and grew a beard instead our daughter gave him a ear ring and posted his picture. We received so many comments that we held a contest and asked people to vote on the website if they liked his ear ring or not. The women loved it and the men hated it.  Of course it was a clip-on.  Frankly I liked it!
   

DAILY ELEVATOR LAPS

Walking to the elevators and back was a lap.  The doctors required that you get out of bed and move.  The goal was 15 laps a day.  Of course his IV pole had to go with him.  He got to where he would give HER a spin, I mean give IT a spin at the elevators when he turned around.  She stuck to him closer than a brother.  Guy was very committed to his "Vator" laps which helped him keep up his strength and gave him a focus.   Don't think the laps were easy.  He had to work up to 15 over time.  First he made it half way to the elevators and sat down before returning to our room. Later he made it all the way to the elevators, sat down for a rest and then returned.    Then he advanced to three full laps a day and finally 15 laps a day.  Make a lap and take a nap, make a lap and take a nap.  You get the idea.

MY COZY SPACE IN GUYS HOSPITAL ROOM

                 This was my space in Guy's 12 x 15 room for ten months.  It was small but had its advantages.  Everything I needed was within reach and on one was likely to sit on me or target me for a shot. However that almost happened when we were napping together in his bed one day and he woke up before I  did.  He decided to go for a brief walk in the hall.  A new nurse was on the floor that day and came in our room to see only my hair sticking out from the covers and no IV pole.  Loud voices woke me up questioning, "who is this in the bed and where is the IV pole?

JOURNEY OF A STEMCELL TRANSPLANT TO FIGHT LEUKEMIA

JOINT VENTURE

                                                           WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER
                                                 THE STEM CELL TRANSPLANT PROCESS
 My name is Cynthia Powers. This blog is about my husband Guy and his battle with Leukemia.  In 2004 Guy was diagnosis with Mylophybrosis, a rear form of blood cancer that advanced into AML which is a very rapid Leukemia.  He was given two weeks to live and sent to Metro City Cancer Center for an adult stem cell transplant.  This resulted in a ten month hospital stay.
     (1)  Guy was given strong Chemo in an IV for several days to completely clean out his bone marrow of diseased stem cells.  (The stem cells in your bone marrow  have the job to make your blood.)
     (2)   At the same time a global search was working to find the closest DNA match to be his adult stem cell donor.  Once the best donor match is located his stem cells must be harvested and sent from around the globe if necessary to Metro City Cancer Center.
     (3)   When Guy's bone marrow is clean and ready for the transplant the donor cells need to be on hand and ready to be transplanted into Guy.
     (4)    The transplant itself is almost a non event. The donor stem cells are put in an IV bag and injected into Guy's blood stream, just like a blood transfusion.  The stem cells look like a bag of banana pudding, thick, a bit lumpy and butter yellow.  A bag of pure gold for sure.

    This story is our experience with Leukemia and the stem cell transplant process.  Maybe this will  ease the anxiety for someone facing the same.  Only the names have been changed to protect our privacy.  This was a Joint Venture and we were in to win.