The Road to "Mobilization"

On the Move                                                                                          January 27, 2015

Looking east to Lake Michigan out the window
of the fifteenth floor. 

      All the preliminary appointments and tests are completed, and Dan is at the official start of his stem cell transplant.  I think he's been waiting for this day since we were informed that there even was such a procedure in clinical trials for CIDP.  That news was immediately followed by the possibility of him being a potential candidate.  In his own words, it was the "hand of God" that brought him to this point through a series of unforeseen events.

       Mobilization is the 10 day process of moving the stem cells from the bone marrow and into the blood stream.   In order to get this started, Dan was admitted to the 15th floor at Northwestern (Prentice) Hospital.  He was given chemotherapy and loads of IV fluids to remain hydrated and ultimately flush the chemo out of his body over 24 hours.  

     With all the medications given to him in advance of the chemo to ward off nausea and other side effects, he managed to endure the treatment with only a headache. Thankfully, additional pain meds helped overcome that as well.  The bigger issue of his stay was dealing with lack of a good night's sleep resulting from IV eclusion in the line.  Every 15 minutes or so, the infusion pump kept beeping.  No surprise that he planned to take an afternoon nap after being discharged.

Entry to the hospital floor requires going through a double barrier of doors.
Extra precautions are taken to prevent infections where many
patients are immune compromised..  Nurses constantly put on new
gowns upon entering the room and everyone must disinfect
hands upon entering and exiting every room.  

      So the next days will hopefully be uneventful as he recovers from this first step.  To continue through the process, he will receive self-administered injections as well as a variety of medications, scheduled lab draws, and precautions to keep him comfortable and healthy.   

Gail, Dan's nurse, getting ready to remove the IV before
being discharged.

     At the end of the 10 days, his body will have been prepared to undergo the harvest of stem cells from his bloodstream.  I wonder how many this process will produce.  Two million are necessary but the more they harvest, the more he'll get back.  They will be the genesis of his new and healthy immune system.