Tom's energy levels were really low on Day 1. He didn't sleep terrifically well last night, and was queasy and tired much of Tuesday.
Today being Day 1 post-transplant, they began giving him GCSF (granulocyte colony stimulating factor)... which may sound familiar because he's had it before. It helps stimulate your body to go into overdrive and help your white counts recover. One thing unique this time: he's able to receive in intravenously, so we don't have to give him a needle every day. Since the beginning of Tom's treatment, he's likely had over 100 needles - so it's a process that's really lost its charm. Unfortunately, it has the same side effect as the needles: it causes body aches and pains.
Another new thing: each Monday they will be testing Tom's IgG levels. IgG or Immunuglobulin G is one sub-type of antibodies that is important in our body's ability to fight infection. As a result of the high dose chemo that Tom received last week, his IgG levels are below acceptable levels, and today he received IVIG (Intravenous Immunoglobulin G). It's a blood product extracted from the plasma of over a thousand donors. (More to be grateful for!)
The most typical side effect of an IVIG transfusion is a strong headache. The IVIG took over 3 hours to administer, and it was only during the last hour that he started to get a reaction... he started to shiver and shake, and even though we upped the room temp and wrapped him in hot blankets, he just couldn't stop shaking. The resident doc and the oncologist on call both came in very shortly, and recommended lowering the infusion rate. The thought was that by infusing it more slowly, the reaction would lessen. Eventually he relaxed and napped a bit, and finally when he woke up he had stopped shaking. They say that there is no way to know if he will always react to it this way, should he need it again. Still, in terms of reaction it wasn't as serious as it might have been.
It's now Tuesday night, and he's back to sort of normal. He didn't eat a lot of supper, but he did enjoy popcorn and Fanta while we watched Glee and Family Guy...I think his sense of humour is back to normal. Tomorrow, we will try to get things back on track - they were hoping to take him off of IV fluids after his meds had finished today, but because he hadn't eaten or drank much all day, they felt it was too early. Another positive sign though is that the anti-nauseant drugs are now being tapered off.
Mike's cold got a little worse yesterday, so he had to leave the hospital as well as Ronald McDonald House to prevent anyone from picking it up. He's gone to Bernie and Eileen's to recuperate. He can come back as soon as he's been symptom free for at least two days, and he's hoping to be back by Thursday.
Talk to you later,
Thomas' Mom
