Transplant in three days.....

Kristy was admitted to MCV on Friday Oct 17th to begin the radiation and chemotherapy for the Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT for short). The schedule is supposed to be two days of complete body radiation, followed by three days of chemotherapy. This will kill all of the living bone marrow cells. Then, she has one day of "rest" and the donor cells are transplanted and the waiting begins.Maybe a simple explanation of the BMT is in order: When functioning properly, the good cells multiply normally and create healthy red blood cells, platelets and white blood cells. With Lymphocytic Leukemia, the cells cease to create normal blood cells and instead create "maverick" cells, that will not do their normal jobs. Think of your bone marrow cells as your lawn; you want only good Fescue seeds to have a lush green healthy lawn, but, those old Crab Grass weeds get in there and mess up your nice green grass. In order to have that healthy green lawn, you've got to use some heavy duty "weed-killer" and kill off all of the seeds, good and bad, then replant with new, healthy Fescue seeds, which will take root and grow lush, new green grass.The Fescue seeds would be the good marrow cells and the Crabgrass will be the Leukemia cells. For a BMT to take place, you must first kill off all the cells (seeds), with Chemo and radiation (weedkiller) in order to transpant new, healthy, donor cells (Fescue seeds). You may go here http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_page?item_id=5965 to learn more about Leukemia and Bone Marrow Transplants.So the radiation and chemo will kill her marrow cells, until the BMT takes place. There will be no immune system until the donated marrow takes "root" and begins to grow in her bones, so she will be highly susceptible to every type of infection and fungus imaginable (and some that are not imaginable!) For this reason, Kristy will remain in a sterile environment on the Tranplant floor at MCV and has many restrictions on her activities and visitors. "Nutropenic" is the name given to this fragile, immuno-compromised condition.She can't be near any fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, flowers or plants; no animals, dirty dishes, dirty laundry. Of course, if you have the least bit of a cold or sniffles, you can't see her. This is a "simplified" version of the BMT, but hopefully you understand how it takes place.On the day of the transplant, the donor cells are dripped into her Hickman port ( a semi-permanent, direct, intra-veneous line). This is known as Day Zero. The next day is Day One (post-transplant), and so on. The goal is Day 100....usually known as the day you are most likely "home-free"; in between she will battle the constant chills, nausea and diarrhea that accompany the chemo and meds, given to both shore up and suppress her immuno-system; to help it grow, yet keep it from fighting the new donor cells ( a condition known as "Graft Versus Host Disease" GVHD)Hopefully, her hospital stay will be something like a month or so, depending upon how her body tolerates it's new BMT cells. Then, she must return to the hospital every day, seven days a week, for the blood tests which continually monitor how her cells are both attempting to grow their own, new marrow and healthy cells, and to watch for any sign of GVHD, so the immuno-suppression can be carefully balanced. It is, indeed, a precarious balancing act.
(This post written by Kristy's Aunt Molly)