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Day 9: We Are Never Alone
I have always been honest with my feelings in this blog. I’ve also focused most of the posts on Ashtyn and my observations of what she is going through and my feelings about it. Today I want to share a personal experience of things I am learning about life as I spend hour upon hour…
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Day Five
Though the days go by fairly quickly for me, time seems to be going slowly. I feel it should be Day 10 due to anticipation but it is only the end of Day 5. Ashtyn woke up with more mouth and throat pain than the day before. They increased her continuous morphine from .6 mg…
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Day 3 and 4 Is Behind Us
Ashtyn is stable and enduring well. Each and every night I sleep at the hospital. Ashtyn and I both like it that way. The nurses give one medication or another at least every few hours both day and night. Ashtyn’s blood pressure and temperature is taken every four hours. Blood is drawn from her Broviac…
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Day 2
Things are still going great. Today was a relaxing day in the hospital. In between watching movies, playing on her phone, and sleeping, staff worked to keep Ashtyn comfortable and manage any side effects she experienced. After Chandler donated his marrow, it was tested for any infections before it was given to Ashtyn. Whether it…
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Post Transplant DAY 1: All paths are crossed for a purpose.
Ashtyn woke up feeling decent and had a rather uneventful day. Uneventful is wonderful. Even though she doesn’t feel as well as she would like, she looks good. Today she spent most of the morning and afternoon sleeping. During the evening she watched movies while her dad rubbed her feet. Twice a day she receives…
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Happy Bone Marrow Transplant Birthday!
At 6:30 a.m. Chandler arrived at the hospital with Jason. I met them in pre-op while he was getting ready for surgery. Chandler was calm and completely fearless. I became a little nervous when I found out that Chandler had woken up feeling sick. He had a sore throat, body aches, and a slight fever…
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She Is Ready For The Transplant
Ashtyn has finished her second day in the hospital finishing up her preparation for her bone morrow transplant that will occur tomorrow. She is experiencing the effects of her eight previous radiation treatments and does not feel well. Nausea comes and goes. Sometimes it’s a mild, lingering feeling. Other times the nausea comes as an…
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What Is a Bone Marrow Transplant?
Bone marrow is a spongy tissue found inside of bones where all of the blood cells are produced. Every type of blood cell in the marrow begins its life as a stem cell. A stem cell can be called a “parent cell” because it divides and forms the different cells that make up the blood…
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Radiation Week
Monday followed a pattern that Ashtyn and I have become very used to. It was unpleasant and tough, then enjoyable and fabulous. It started out at noon when we went to Primary Children’s Hospital for a check up, final transplant teaching, and paperwork. By 1 pm we had not been seen by the transplant team.…
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As Social As She Can Be
Things are ever changing. Three days ago (Thursday) Ashtyn had surgery. She was so brave. On the way to the hospital we discussed whether or not she should get a new NG tube. Knowing that in the near future she would have days of radiation, chemotherapy, and the transplant, she wondered if she would be…