Hello there.

Day 5: End of the line. Got up at 7:00 AM today since the collection was scheduled at 8. The nurse gave me an Ativan to ease the tension =X I had one last injection. I don’t know if it was nerves or what because it felt more painful than the last two times T___T.

Anyways, the nurses set me up on a bed and first set up the needle in the right arm. What’s nice is that they numb both the right and left arm so when they insert the needle, I didn’t feel anything. Gahhh, but the stuff they used to numb the area burned/stung. But definitely better than feeling a needle lodged in my arm. Omg, it was soo cool when they inserted the needle in the left arm though (returning blood) because I could move it, and there was tubing around and connected with blood flowing through it. It looked kind of cool. Hahahah. 

Bummer though, the centrifuge machine was directly next to me and I couldn’t see it in action =( I tried to lean over to see it but only saw half of it because of my arm. There were little circular things spinning and above it were baggies for blood and for some stuff that they mixed with my returning blood so it wouldn’t clot. 

I fell asleep immediately after the collection started and woke up like 2 hours later feeling tingly… a result of the stuff they mixed with my blood because it binds to calcium to prevent clotting. Which leads to a calcium deficiency and a tingly feeling (said the nurse). So I got to get calcium injections! Hooray, it felt really weird, because it gives hot flashes. The nurse said I’d feel like an old middle aged woman going through menopause XD 

I also got to learn how to use a bedpan… yay… Uhhhh. It’s very difficult especially since I couldn’t move my right arm. Uhmm… yeah… >.> Props to the nurses though since they have to treat it with dignity and respect and definitely made me feel comfortable. 

The last hour and a half felt the longest, Jeff and I were watching TV and stuff though, the remote kind of sucked… There was only one button and I could only change the channel forward or else cycle through all the channels again… 

At the end, they unhooked me and a doctor checked how I was feeling and they gave me some Tums (calcium) to take home. We took a taxi home and I was falling asleep during the ride back >.< I guess you could say the experience is like giving blood for 6 hours straight… but I don’t really know since I’ve never given blood before. All and all, it was a very cool experience. I don’t know yet if I’ll ever get to hear about the recipient but I hope for the best for her =)

ALSO! Last but definitely not least, THANK YOU JEFF!!! For coming with me to all my appointments and each and every injection and holding my hand through it all. =) He deserves half the credit or else I would have probably been sobbing through all the injections and the collection >.< 

Edit: I went a edited my post… I wanted to get this out and didn’t bother to proof-read…  

Day 4: NOTHING! Blahhh, sorry for late-ness. I’d rather type about my collection… but anyways more aching, more pain. My hips hurt… my lower back hurts… no hives though, because of the allergy medicine =) 

http://www.amazon.com/Little-Engine-That-Could-Anniversary/dp/0448400413/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313724091&sr=8-1

Day 2: Went pretty well. I told the nurse about the rash/hives and she said to take some anti-histamine medicine and see what happens. I took some Tylenol for pain. That’s about all I remember… I also felt really tired. 

Day 3: Today! Got the injection again. Surprisingly didn’t hurt/pinch as much as the first two times =) which is awesome. Although I have a different nurse giving me the injection… hmmm…

I didn’t take any Tylenol today… I ache… all over. I guess this is what I was missing out on yesterday, all doped up on Tylenol and all. I’m actually kind of paranoid and am scared that taking Tylenol will dull my senses so that if a trigger pain occurs, I might miss it until it becomes massive… Hahahah. But this is actually bearable pain, not like… immense pain. I’ve had more pain after 2 hours of walking around in heels. =) 

I also took the allergy medicine today, no hives for me! Hooray! Only two more days

Just kidding… the pain is getting extra achy… like a bad cold/flu. I was gonna tough it out but decided to just take some Tylenol. 

Day 1: Hoorah. I went in to the clinic at 9:30 AM for my first injection today. It went well. The nurse was very nice and was cracking jokes and helped ease the tension. The injection itself wasn’t as bad as I thought, the needle that she used was pretty small… so she and Jeff said since I didn’t actually look at it… hahaha. *scared of needles* It took like a minute because the nurse didn’t want me to feel the needle too much. I’m not quite sure if I would have preferred a faster injection… BUT! Luckily since it’s only 2 cc/mL worth of Filgrastim, she didn’t have to do two injections. (phew) She also drew a sample of blood. Not very big, was nothing compared to the injection. 

Side Effects! I didn’t actually feel much different afterward. It wasn’t until probably around 3 PM when I started feeling tired for no reason and achy. Exactly how I feel when recovering from a cold of flu. (Go figure, since that’s how the pain is described to be xD) Actually, not bad at all considering I thought it was going to be horribly painful and uncomfortable. Reading the pamphlets sort of exaggerated in my mind how bad it was going to be. I don’t have any pain near my stomach which is good =) 

WHAT’S NOT GOOD =( I have a rash on the injection site (my tummy =/) This is supposed to be one of the more uncommon side effects of Filgrastim. It was itchy earlier. But now it isn’t (7:30PM). I’ll check with the nurse tomorrow to see if I should worry. 

On the plus side, I am not vomiting.

Hey! This actually happened back on August 2nd but I never posted about it because I was busy with summer classes. =X But now they’re over! Hooray!

Since the first check-up was more than a month away from the collection date, I had to go in and do some more blood tests. Luckily, I was well-hydrated and it went off without a hitch :) Hooray! So make sure to be hydrated before you give blood. ;) 

The collection date is this Wednesday! Tomorrow, I start the the Filgrastim injections. I’ll keep the blog updated for sure. 

Had the check-up/physical for the donation today which included blood work and other tests. Unfortunately I was dehydrated for the past day or so and ended up having to get blood drawn from both arms because the vein in my left arm kept collapsing and refusing to give any more blood (yay for self-defense? xD hahahah) 

I also met my NMDP coordinator and did paperwork stuff. All very good. I’m physically fit to donate, yay! So just gotta wait for them to get back to me about the blood work before I’m cleared. 

Just a thought, the NMDP tries to make this as convenient as possible for me and scheduling everything to take up as few days as possible. Very nice :D Also interesting! There’s only one NMDP division that takes care of Northern California, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, parts of Washington. It’s all very consolidated which is convenient and inconvenient at the same time. People from other states have to fly to California (at the expense of NMDP and the recipient) to do their testing and blood work and the collection. I can see how donating can be inconvenient when one doesn’t live close by =/ and why the NMDP tries to make it as streamlined as possible 

Anyways, I have to go in again within 30 days of the collection to do check-up tests. We’ll see how it goes :) 

Date’s been set, week of August 15th.

Last October, I registered for the National Marrow Donor Program. 

Two months ago, I got a call informing me that I’m a potential match for someone. So soon? I went in to give some blood samples. 

Last week, I got another call. I’m the best match for this person. The procedure will be a Peripheral Blood Stem Cells (PBSC) collection. This means that I’ll be taking a drug for 5 days leading up to the collection to increase my PBSC count in my blood stream. My blood will then be drawn and the PBSC will be filtered from it and my blood will be returned to me (HOORAY!).

I’m not sure what to say, it’s still early in the process and I don’t want to jinx anything. The collection date hasn’t even been confirmed yet. =X 

Anyways, if you haven’t already, you really should become a donor on the NMDP registry. If you’re a match, you can potentially have a direct impact in saving someone’s life. 

http://www.marrow.org/JOIN/index.html?src=tabjoin