Transplant part one

Around 1:00 today, after a morning of preparatory drugs and evaluations, Jerry received the stem cells that Anthony donated yesterday. Anthony donated more today, which Jerry will get tomorrow. It took about 6 hours to collect the cells from Anthony. Jerry received them in just one hour. One of the nurse practitioners said that in the next weeks, Anthony's bone marrow will begin to take over Jerry's. Until then, Jerry has virtually no immune system, so I definitely can't hug him, although I thought I saw the boys exchange a pretty hearty high five today after the transplant. And it seems they called each other "bro" an awful lot, too.I started to feel left out, but then they called me "mom," and I felt oddly comforted.

We are relaxing now, glad that the awful chemo days are behind us. I think dad would have been proud that we all hung in there for each other.

Getting Ready

Nurse Practitioner Jill checks Jerry's vitals in preparation for receiving stem cells. Anthony has another day of harvesting his cells ahead. Both my boys are in the bone marrow clinic today, just a hallway apart from each other. All's well.

Nurse Jeannie and Patient Jerry

Thanks to Nurse Jeannie, who helped Jerry conquer fever, chills, hives, hiccups, nausea, and other associated Campath reactions. She also makes a great chocolate shake. And now she wears a relentless bracelet too.

The Magic Apheresis Machine

This machine takes Anthony's blood and removes the stem cells for Jerry's use tomorrow...

Donating stem cells

My Sleeping Brothers

Day 5 at Duke, mid-day. Both "boys" sleeping comfortably as I type. Jerry is on his last day of super-charged chemo and Anthony is hooked up to the apheresis machine that is extracting stem cells from his blood. Today, I really do feel like I deserve being called mom. I have spent the day so far walking between Jerry in the hospital and Tony at the clinic. Campath gave Jerry a few more inconveniences to deal with, nonstop hiccups for instance and stomach woes. He regularly curses out the iv of drugs but appreciates all the nurses.

They are amazing here. What a place. The bone marrow stem cell unit is in a special wing. You need to get through three sets of double doors and a reception area where the protocol includes hand washing and mask-donning. The air in the rooms is continuously circulated too. Every once in a while, I get the urge to hug Jerry but I am afraid I am not up to the standards.

Transplant begins tomorrow. What would a Jerry with Tony cells be like, I wonder? Those of you who know both of them know why I'm chuckling at the thought...

Fever, and Chills, and Hives, oh my

Jerry hates campath, the drug that gave him fever and chills and hives. We learned all these symptoms are fairly common with the chemo regime he is on. He is spending another day at the hospital (rather than the clinic). But he was fever free when we left him, and apparently tonight--after a breathing treatment and chest xrays--he walked across the hall to the exercise room and sent us a photo with some light weights. If we can figure out how to post photos, we will. No surprise, he remains relentless; dad would have been proud.

Also no surprise, Jerry is a favorite of the hospital staff. One nurse even personally made him a milk shake. Tomorrow, Anthony gets his last shot for stem cell generation and then undergoes the 6-hour process of harvesting the stem cells, which will be transplanted to Jerry on Wednesday. Thanks for all your messages. When he's awake, Jerry reads them or we tell him about them. He continually says how lucky he is to have such a support network.

A nasty drug

In the last 24 hours, the chemo drugs are proving to be as nasty as their reputation suggests. Jerry had a reaction to one of them and ran a 102 fever for the last 12 hours. He is quiet, which means that he is not happy. The tv is on but he is mostly in and out of sleep. When he wakes up, he just looks over and smiles to me as if to say, "you still here"? The nurses keep telling me how pleasant he is, but I know he is really annoyed at the drug causing the trouble....We have moved from the clinic to the hospital, but I am sure that is a temporary step and that he will be better soon.

So Far So Good

Yesterday at Duke, Jerry had some procedures and Tony had his two shots of the day to help grow his stem cells. Today, Jerry is having all day chemo, and Anthony is continuing with his shots. We are in a special bone marrow stem cell wing of the hospital. It is very comfortable, with a family lounge and a good cafeteria across the street. Despite the 99 degree temps, Tony and I regularly make the trek for hot coffee. As I type, Jerry is having chemo and resting comfortably, no doubt dreaming of drinking beer (a now forbidden beverage) back at home.

As you would expect, there are lots of other patients and family members walking around the halls. We all seem to share the same knowing glances, and it starts to feel comfortable here rather quickly. Except for all the "ya all"s that we hear so often. That will take time to get used to. We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

On Our Way

Important Weeks Ahead

We are coming up to some important weeks ahead, and I am trying not to worry. It is good to know so many people are sending love and support. So many that it's humbling. Our friend Michael, who is much more tech savvy than I, installed a stat counter on this blog when we first introduced it. It's hard to believe this page has been accessed more than 1,000 times.

My new mantra

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Matthew 6:34

Join Jerry Dinner: August 22

We have the details for the Join Jerry dinner, and we hope you all can come.

We are so grateful to friends and family who have handled all the plans for us while we were taking care of our beloved Papa. The date is August 22, 6:00 pm, at the Brownstone. 351 West Broadway, Paterson, NJ. Family style dinner. DJ. Unlimited beer, wine, soda! That's right, unlimited...

$65 per ticket before August 16. $75 after. To purchase tickets, please send checks to Diane Makoujy, 9 Columbus Ave., Totowa, NJ 07512.

xoxo

Arrangements for Papa

http://festamemorial.com/obituary_view/73832

Good bye, Papa

Our beloved father, Damiano Senatore, passed away. He was a devoted family man, and I miss his quiet strength and boundless love already. Throughout his hospital stay, Dad wore his relentless bracelet for his son. Jerry now wears it in dad's honor. Relentless, the both of them.