Day Zero

Our little hero has weathered the past few days of chemo in preparation for her transplant with little more than some tiredness as a result. All things considered, she has had an excellent preparatory period leading up to today, Day Zero.

Day Zero is a special day in many ways. Many people consider this a new birthday. This is the day she will be given a new immune system and will start the process of taking on a new blood type (if the donor’s type is different than Erica’s). The start of a new life. So, remember April 29th!!! (and June 4th too – her original birthday).

There have been some sobering, but also thankful moments as Day Zero has approached. For one, the nurses have reminded Erica of the possible side effects of her radiation and chemo treatment that will not be able to be fought off by her immune system, because she will have none until her white blood cell counts go up somewhere in between Day 14 and 21. This was all instigated by what I call the Mouth Sore Secretion Suction System (MOSSESS, not too unlike what a dentist would use) that was introduced to her last night. Mouth sores and dry skin/rashes are common following these procedures and can be quite unpleasant. These side effects have had her quite down in the past 24 hours.

What needs to be remembered, and something one of her nurses reminded her of last night, is that there are some people who don’t get donors, so that is why Day Zero, although a start of some difficult times, is mostly a cause for celebration. This is the chance to get her life back. The cause of hope for a promising future. So, if anything celebrate this day for Erica!

Day Zero officially began at 6:00 pm on the dot (so all you astrology buffs can check the exact time)… The doctors came in with what looked like a Bloody Mary cocktail mix in a bag and hooked it up to one of her lines. The “transplant” takes place like a blood transfusion. The initial flow was set for an hour, but because she had no immediate adverse reaction (great!), they increased the flow and she had sucked it dry within 45 minutes. Having taken some meds prior to the transplant, she slept soundly throughout the procedure and continues to sleep soundly, now over two hours after the transplant, with still no reactions. Now it’s just keeping tabs on her and making sure she doesn’t get any fevers or itching…

I wish I could tell you what kind of spirits she was in, but she’s been awake about an hour the entire day. Probably for the best.

Happy Birthday Erica!!!