Technically Andy calls yesterday day 1 because he had his CT scan yesterday (spoiler, results looked good...no changes to his previous lesions and no new bone lesions. yay!)
But as I'm the one that is narrating journey, I say today was day 1 😆😇
Today we went to the Froedtert Main Campus and were quickly reminded how lucky we were to spend most of our treatment time at our sleepy Moorland Reserve Clinic!
We found the green structure and went to the Center for Advanced Care. Let's be honest...we aren't totally sure what all these tests are for, except for the fact that we are essentially ensuring that Andy's body is ready to handle what we are going to put it through during his SCT.
First up - Pulmonary Clinic. During our conversation with our nurse, she mentioned something about the test being 75 minutes....spoiler - it was NOT. Andy must follow instructions very well, because we were in and out fairly quickly.
Off to the Heart and Vascular Center for our EKG. This was a simple transition of an elevator ride down from floor 4 to floor 3.
The EKG waiting area was my favorite. Here Andy and I were able to listen to one of our 'roommates' scrolling through Insta-reals, or whatever. I mean, this was fairly loud....It is also where we were entertained by the women wearing a t-shirt that said "It's I don't give a Fvck O'clock". Her mom (or whoever she was there with) was trying to navigate a VERY large wheelchair, which she ultimately decided she could not navigate and just left it in the door frame, to which the t-shirt wearing friend had to go back and get the chair. AND the woman that, when they called her name, waived her arms 'like she just won bingo' (according to Andy). The nurse that called her name...was not amused (clearly not as amused as we were!) Andy and I got called back, and seriously, as quickly as we were in there - we were out. EKGs can be fast!
On to waiting area 2 for our Echo. We weren't as entertained this time, but may have provided some entertainment to others as Andy and I went down a political rabbit hole! Echo went smoothly and without a hitch.
We were now down with the Center for Advanced Care and had to move our car from the Green Lot to the Gold Lot for the Day Hospital (Spoiler...we probably could have walked - ha!)
When we went to check into the day hospital for our first Neupogen shot, we were told we couldn't check in for our 4:30 appointment until 4 PM. It was a little after 3.
Andy and I decided to become a little more familiar with the Day Hospital, where we will be spending a lot of time in the future weeks / months. We walked around and found a little bistro (good to know). We got a snack and just hung out for a minute. I don't love that Andy has cancer. But I am blessed that even waiting for the journey of our life, spending time with this guy is my absolute favorite thing to do!
At 4 PM we went back up to the Day Hospital to check in. In this waiting room there are a lot of puzzles, a lot of those solar moving things (bad explanation, I'll take a picture tomorrow!) We colored. And left our coloring sheets behind...do you think they'll be there tomorrow? Or do we have to start new ones?
We were called back by our nurse Gina. Oh. How we loved Gina. Full of energy. Full of excitement and happiness. She also works in the BMT area and was happy to answer any questions we had. As we have no idea what to ask...she just started talking to us about the process. Particularly the next few days of preparing for and eventual stem cell collection. She talked about just how far treatment has come in her 17 years of working in oncology. Particularly with the difference between Stem Cell collection from Bone Marrow collection. She shared that Froedtert is one of the top 3 SCT centers. Right here in our backyard! Trust me. It's never lost on Andy and I how fortunate we are to have Froedtert right here. Receiving world class care in our backyard!
Gina also said something that we had never heard before. Remission.
She was asking Andy about all his symptoms, which, of course he has none. She's like, of course you feel good, you are in remission. We were like....um, what? And Gina explained that really to get to the place of SCT, most of the cancer needs to be knocked out. So, to even do the SCT, Andy is either in PR (Partial Remission) or VGPR (Very Good Partial Remission). Then, she left and got Andy's Neupogen.
Andy received not one, not two, but THREE Neupogen injections. Rockstar. His WBC count will be so high, he's going to be able to push the elevator buttons with his tongue! (I'm kidding, I'm kidding! I actually told him that from now on, no touching surfaces with his hands! Doors open with our feet our elbows, buttons pushed with elbows!)
Then we got a tour of the day hospital and were told what to expect each day. Gina was a saint. We are very hopeful we'll get to see her this weekend when we are back!
And then we left...Day 1. Done.
Tomorrow - Port Day and Neupogen shot 2 (or, I guess, technically 4, 5, and 6).
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| He's amazing. |
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