Last day of Chemo!

So today marked the last day of Chemotherapy. whew!!! Busulfan did have to be bumped up in dose and then an extra day added, but that part is over now. Today was a pretty good day considering. My girl was smiling a lot which makes us so happy. She would hum and whistle. Despite being trapped in this little hospital room and being bumped full of drugs that make her feel all crummy and being picked at a lot, she still manages to magically make me smile.

So now that Katlyns chemo is out of the way her immune system is going to start to die. What little she does have is going to be gone, and this is in order to make room for her new bone marrow. So, the doctors have already started to give Katlyn a good protection as she will be suseptable to infection. She is also getting cyclosporin as an immune suppressant. This drug seems to have some side effects for Katlyn. This morning during her first dose she woke up feeling like she was burning. She complained this afternoon that she didn't feel well and her blood pressure was high. Luckily they were able to give her a drug to help with this. When the nurse brought the medicine she gave Katlyn a choice to take the liquid or that she could put the liquid in a capsule for Katlyn to swallow. When Katlyn realized that she was going to put the liquid in the capsule right in front of her, as then asked Katlyn if she would like to help, it became a very exciting time.

We are still waiting to see how the medicine works and if will (fingers crossed) bring her blood pressure down. In the days to come Katlyn is going to start feeling very sick and feeling all the terrible side effects that go with chemotherapy. I pray that the discomfort is minimal and that I get to see her smile a lot. We've been asking a lot of questions about what to expect and how long this stuff with last, and I'm not going to go into detail about side effect as most people already know what that brings, but usually the symptoms will last for 3-4 weeks after transplant. Our job will be to keep her as safe as possible so that she doesn't catch anything as she is already and will be so much more immune compromised. We try our best to fill our days the best we can. We have been playing a lot of minecraft and doing some art and watching a lot of Goosebumps. We have really been trying to focus on keeping busy and staying positive. The mail that has been coming in is incredible. Katlyn really looks forward to it and the way she reads all these beautiful cards and then this sweet little smile appears on her face. We have been putting her cards on the walls to help remind all of us that we have a lot of support during this difficult time. She was so lucky to receive an awesome package of crystals from Aunt Sue. She was just amazed that she now has real crystals.

So tomorrow and Wednesday are rest days. Ya, sure there are still alot of drugs and poking at Katlyn, but she has no more chemo!! Wednesday is the day that the day that the donor will be harvested and then Thursday is the big day!!! They guestimate that around 6pm Katlyn will receive her new marrow. Then we wait. We wait for her to engraft and for the new marrow to take hold and for her own body not to reject the new marrow. Here's hoping and praying for an awesome day tomorrow. Lots and lots of smiles and giggles is my goal.