2 Marathons Run

Tyler and I have just completed 2 marathon days at SCCA. On Wednesday and Thursday, they gave him two chemo treatments each day, which meant we arrived at SCCA at 7:30am for a quick lab and then headed up to their infusion suites to begin the day. We left between 9:30 and 10pm both days, so we had long days.

Most of the day was hydration and side effect management for a drug called Cytoxan. Tyler only has to get that drug these two days pre-transplant, but will get a 3rd (and larger dose) a few days after transplant. For the transplant protocol he is on, Tyler had to get 4 hours of hydration before they could even start giving him the drug. That's because this particular drug can cause your damage to your bladder. Tyler got so hydrated that he ended up having to urinate (or "void" according to the medical staff) every 60-90 minutes. That kept the chemo from settling in his bladder and causing trouble.

His other chemo was called Fludarabine (or "Florida Bean" as we like to call it). He gets it daily Wednesday through Sunday, but it is a quick one and takes less preparation.

Tyler did FANTASTIC both days! No nausea during the treatments and tons of eating both days. I sincerely hope that this continues through the transplant day next week. After almost a week of isolation, Tyler and I are both thriving on the chance to be together again, so we just spent the days keeping company and enjoying the hours we could be together. Everything is easier on us both if we can be together and strengthen each other.

With the treatments, his blood production is beginning to fall off. We expect that he will get several transfusions to tide him over until his dad's marrow takes hold and begins to make new blood for Tyler (likely about 1 month from now). We begin that today, with 2 units of red blood cells scheduled.

Transplant -4 and counting!