D-4

Happy Monday!  So I finally admitted to the hospital on Saturday morning!  I started my high-dose chemotherapy that evening and had my second dose of high-dose chemotherapy last night.  Luckily I've had no side effects from the chemotherapy thank goodness for good anti-nausea medications.  I have had a few visitors: my friend Mary Anne from CRC, John, and Kyle.  My Dad arrives in Denver tonight and Kyle will bring him to the hospital later tonight after they go out to dinner.  Ky will donate his stem cells tomorrow morning and they will process and count them tomorrow afternoon and then freeze them for me.  I have finished my chemotherapy and today is my rest day.   Tomorrow through Friday I will have my radiation  treatments.  My transplant is scheduled for Friday night.  So that technically makes today D -4: this is how the doctor notates where I am in pre-transplant conditioning..."transplant day -4".

I got my room decorations up and my spirits are still high :). My room here at this hospital is much smaller than my rooms at St. Joseph's Hospital where I did my first two rounds of chemo.  I don't have a view from my small window but at least I can open up my blinds and let the sunshine in.  I try to get out of my room and walk the hall at least 2 to 3 times a day.  I am not allowed to leave this unit because my unit that is HEPA filtered and the outside hallway (beyond the double doors) is not.  The hallway is only about 100 feet long but it feels nice to get out and walk.  There is a sign on the unit that says 58 lengths equals 1 mile so I try to get a mile in each day.  I take my IV pole with me.  This new IV pole is like an IV on steroids... there's two towers because they have to be able to hang so many bags of medications.  

Yesterday at one point I had eight bags hanging on my IV poles... talk about crazy!  I'll include a picture for you see can see how big it is.  I have decorated it with a little wrist rattle that one of my cousins got for Scott when he was little...so I have a little bee on the cross bar of my IV pump that makes me smile. :) 

-Chellie