White Blood Cells Gone

Today is T + 5, and this morning Karl's white blood cells were measured to be 0.1, with the neutrophils making up 0.08 of that 0.1. The white cells would likely have been zero had they been measured later in the day. This is perfectly normal and expected in a bone marrow transplant. Melphalan was given on day T -1 to kill the bone marrow, which produces the blood cells, and the white cells only live a matter of days in the body before they are replaced with new ones....so since Karl's old bone marrow can't produce cells now...

Today there was something new in the transplant process didn't happen last time. Karl was given Neupogen this morning, and will have Neupogen for the next 4 days. This is a drug that helps boost the production of white blood cells. Karl was given this drug 8 years ago to help boost stem cell production before the stem cell harvest, but he wasn't given it during the transplant. There are always new studies showing more effective processes. Thankfully.

How is Karl? Very tired. He has lost his appetite but is trying to eat what he can as per medical advice. He is sometimes nauseous, he has had some diarrhea, his mouth is inflamed, and he is often cold (his room feels like a sauna to me). But the good news is he hasn't thrown up, his blood pressure is stable, and he hasn't had a fever. We've been told that about 99% of transplant patients end up with some sort of infection during the process since their immune system is gone, but so far Karl seems okay. Last time he got c-diff, a common hospital ailment. They are monitoring Karl closely through his temperature, blood cultures, urine samples and stool samples. If anything shows up they will be quick to give antibiotics.

Thanks for the continued good wishes and prayers. They mean more than we can ever express.

Comments

  1. The Happy Adventurer10 June 2025 at 20:21

    I am happy to hear this good news. I will continue to hope and pray for the best. Take care and get well soon.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Here We Go Again...Stem Cell Transplant Take 2!

If you have followed Karl's journey with Multiple Myeloma you will know that he was diagnosed in March, 2017 and had a stem cell transplant in December of that same year. After the transplant Karl took an oral maintenance chemo, Lenolidamide, for 7 years and therefore was able to stay away from iv chemo. That changed in February of this year when he started iv chemo using Isatuxamab, Carfilzomib, and Dexamethasone. Karl's myeloma has historically mainly affected his monoclonal proteins (m-proteins), which are abnormal proteins produced in his body as a result of the cancer. At diagnosis his m-proteins were a little over 12. These were knocked down to half prior to the first stem cell transplant, and after the transplant were measured to be 1.5. These start growing again right away, but for Karl they grew exponentially. That is to say very slowly at first with a very low almost horizontal curve, and in the past year quickly with more of a vertical curve. In March of 2024 they ...
Read more

Melphalan Day = T minus 1

Image
Before the update, thanks to everyone who reached out with messages and comments. I read each of them to Karl today and we felt very uplifted. We were especially comforted by the comments from people who have gone through the multiple myeloma fight with their loved ones. A few tears seeped out when I read the comments from Jane W, Deb D, and Rosalind Y. Hugs.  Now an update. Last night Karl was started on iv fluids that will continue for at least another 24 hours. Last night was in preparation for the Melphalan, today is to counteract the Melphalan, and tomorrow is more of the same plus to keep him hydrated in preparation for his stem cells. But that's for tomorrow.  Today the focus was Melphalan, a chemo drug used to kill his old bone marrow, where his cancer was living and growing. It has lots of harsh side effects including wrecking havoc with the digestive tract from the top to bottom. The top includes potential mouth sores which were counteracted with special mouth wash, ...
Read more