GFR

The harvesting of the stem cells went well yesterday and we finally got to leave late afternoon. Just before we left we got the good news from the lab that they got well over the amount of stem cells needed, this is great and the extra will be put back into Holly at transplant.

It was only a brief respite because Holly was needed back at Addenbrookes today for her GFR (kidney function) test. Chemo can affect the kidneys so this is important to check before we begin the high dose chemo next week. They also wanted to do a chest x-ray to check all was still well. Dad took Holly to enable me to spend some time at home with the Little Ones, it was fab to take them to toddler group, they had so much fun. Izzy was most excited and kept checking that I was definitely coming and didn't have to go to the hospital with Holly.
All went well at Addenbrookes and we should have the results next week.

We are due back on Sunday and this is for the long stay. Holly will have a week of high dose chemo followed by the stem cell transplant. The docs have told us to expect to be in for 4-6 weeks and Holly will probably spend at least 2 weeks of that in isolation. The high dose chemo will basically take away her immune system and the blood counts will start to drop. When they have dropped she has to be kept away from anyone who could put her at risk of infection. We will spend the whole stay in one of the special rooms which have purified air pumped into them. The stem cell transplant will take place after the week of chemo. It is done like a blood transfusion and shouldn't be too intrusive. When her counts start to recover she should be allowed to roam around the ward and the worst should be over. I have no doubt this is going to be tough, she will be quite poorly, but I know she will get through this with the same bravery she has shown throughout.

I am getting concerned that my car is not big enough for our stay. I suggested to Holly that we make her hospital room more "homely", she has already started to pack. There doesn't seem to be much left in her bedroom and there is a suspiciously large number of bags by her bed! This, combined with duvets and pillows, makes me wonder if ward C2 has enough space!