Friday, December 17, 2010

A new (wo)man

Mom received her stem cells today at 1pm.  The transplant took about 36 minutes, so pretty quick.  As I had said before, the donor had the same blood type, which meant that they didn't need to premedicate with benadryl, steroids, and other drugs.  The stem cells came in two bags of reddish liquid and when the nurse was hooking them up, she commented about how cold the bags were, asking the nurse practitioner if they had been frozen (they hadn't).  We moved on and everything went smoothly.  That is, until mom needed to get up and use the bathroom.  When she left the comfort of the blankets, she started shivering uncontrollably, which was pretty scary to watch.  They piled blankets on her and continued to watch her vitals, making sure that nothing was spiking (nothing did).  This went on for about 5-10 minutes while the nurses got the drugs they thought she needed.  Within 5 seconds of receiving demoral, the shaking stopped and mom started feeling alright.  Of course, we found out that the first thing you do after you receive demoral is... vomit.  Time for more zofran IV.  So, now mom is relaxing with a smile on her face while she mumbles half-thoughts to us.  As far as I can tell, the nurses think that the cold blood is what caused her shivers, and that it will improve.  So, so far so good!
 Callie and Mom showing their emotions (Thanks Mandi!)
Receiving the stem cells in style
She already has the strength of a 22 year old
Apparently if you ask mom to 'look stoned' while she's on demoral, she'll look like a zombie

6 comments:

  1. Those face masks are so stinkin' cute. Of course, I expect nothing less from the adorable Taintor women! Been thinking about ya'll all day.

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  2. I've got my mind set on you...how old was Case when that was the ONLY song he wanted to hear/sing? I'm been humming it all day as I think of you.

    "Its gonna take time, a whole lot of precious time
    Its gonna take patience and time,
    To do it, to do it, to do it, to do it, to do it,
    To do it right child."

    And we're with you every step of the way!

    peace @

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  3. Thinking about you all day Wanda! Way to go girl! Be strong! And watch those kids of yours! They just might get out their felt tip pins and start filling in your P.J.s when you are doing that " stoned" imitation :). Love the Christmas bling! Keep smiling and know you are loved! Dee

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  4. And, BLINK. Hmmm. Ok, let's try that again. BLINK. Great imitation of deer in the headlights! So relieved the destructive phase is over. Somehow you stayed positive. Case's blog posts and pictures helped all of us believe you were going to be fine. Let the healing begin!

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  5. There she is: Superwoman herself!!!! You look way better than in those comic books ... especially in those crossword puzzle jammies. We love you!!!

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  6. I think the blinking Christmas lights raise the style bar to a whole new level. :-) I love your spirit and inspirational attitude. Day 1 of new life! Love you!!!

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