Donation Day

Yesterday was Donation Day.  It was a long, emotional, tiring day.

I have crap veins so they had decided to try ultrasound guided placement of the needles needed for the donation.  After 3 sticks, and about an hour, to get them in, I was taken down to the aphresis area where they would do the donation.  When they went in to flush the veins to get the tubing hooked up, both of my veins had collapsed so I was sent back downstairs to get a central line in my groin placed.  There was some tears when I found out they had to do the line.  The nurses  were so wonderful and really rallied around me and the Atavan they gave me helped me immensely.

Another hour later I was moved back up to the unit, hooked up to the machine and laid there for 4 hours while my blood was recirculated 6 times.  I slept some and just hung out.  I had the nurse in the room with me the whole time and she was just fabulous.  We talked about me going to nursing school and she really encouraged me to think about working in hematology/oncology.  I had always said that I would never want to do that, but now, I'm actually thinking about it.

When the donation was done, there was a courier there to pick up the marrow and stem cells and take them to the little girl who will need them.  Another emotional moment.  To actually see what my body had been working on for so hard for the 4 days prior and then to see it packed up and taken away was a tough moment.  I wished it well and told it to go do good things and save this little girl.

So they take me down to have the central line removed and things start going even more downhill.  The line came out fine but I started feeling really nauseous and my fingers started tingling.  The nurses jumped into action and started ordering blood tests and doing a new IV.  I started crying again when I found out I had to be stuck again.  At this point I was just exhausted physically and mentally and I sent John out to call my parents to see if they could keep the kids again overnight.  I literally laid there and cried that I just wanted to go home and I wanted my Mom.  They checked my calcium levels and they were on the low side which was causing the tingling and nausea.  I was given some Zofran so I slept and finally 2 hours later was allowed to head home.  I was still feeling sick and ended up throwing up on the side of the road a few miles away from home.  After that I felt so much better.  Came home and just laid on the couch, ate some toast and popcorn and went to bed .

Would I do this again?  Absolutely.  Even with all of the complications I know that they were minimal compared to what this little girl had to go through.  I am still mentally and physically exhausted so today is going to be spent on the couch, but to know that I saved a life yesterday....that buoys me and confirms that it really was all worth it.

Bone Marrow Donation

About 3 years ago I signed up to be a bone marrow donor.  I never imagined that I would get a call that I was a match, but at the end of October that's exactly what I got.  I was told it was for a 7 year old little girl who has Fanconi Anemia.  I was sent in for more testing and the week of Christmas I got the phone call that I was a perfect match.  I was excited, nervous and humbled.  They told me that the donation was going to be in March or April, so I waited.  Most of March moved on and still I waited.  Finally at the end of March I got a call that we were ready to move forward.  I was sent for a complete physical and given a tentative donation date.  I would be doing a Peripheral Blood Stem Cell donation.  What that means is that for 4 days before the donation I have to take a medication called Filgrastim and the donation is a lot like giving plasma.  They take the blood out of one arm, remove the stem cells and marrow and give me back in the other arm what they don't need.

So I started the Filgrastim 3 days ago.  The side effects aren't pleasant, but tolerable.  For me it's been bone pain, muscle pain and insomnia.  Tylenol has been able to keep the edge off for the most part and the effects are actually getting less as the time goes on.  Maybe my body is just getting used to it.

Tomorrow I go in for the donation.  I'm ready for it to be done.  It's actually the easy part of the whole week.  I get to sit and watch movies for 4 hours.  After the donation I should be back to "normal" in a day or two.

So those are the facts.  Now how to I "feel" about all of this?  I'm not going to lie, it hasn't been easy.  It's been painful, but I have to keep remembering that I'm doing this for a little girl so she can have a longer life.  There have been times when I just wanted to complain and cry that I don't want to do this anymore.  That it hurt too bad.  But I have a wonderfully supportive family who understands and has really picked up the slack and has kept encouraging me.

One of the hardest things is being praised for what I'm doing.  I don't want praise for it.  I do want people to know how important it is and to encourage others to sign up to be on the registry.  This short 5 day time period is minimal in the grand scheme of my life.  And for that I get to save a life.  Now that's pretty damn cool.