Being the not so energetic guy, a bit nauseous, really sleepy and just plain old lazy here you have a recap by my charming, loving and most generous wife, Lu.
DMSO – this is the chemical which Scott’s stems cells were preserved in for the last 2 years….He, of course, cannot smell it and they put peppermint oil all around the room in little bowls to override the odor. Some say the smell resembles garlic…well, I love the smell of garlic, but not THIS garlic!! I’ve brought in a plug in diffuser and have Thieves essential oil in it see if that helps…
“In cryobiology DMSO has been used as a cryoprotectant and is still an important constituent of cryoprotectant vitrification mixtures used to preserve organs, tissues, and cell suspensions. Without it, up to 90% of frozen cells will become inactive. It is particularly important in the freezing and long-term storage of embryonic stem cells and hematopoietic stem cells, which are often frozen in a mixture of 10% DMSO, a freezing medium, and 30% fetal bovine serum. In the cryogenic freezing of heteroploid cell lines (MDCK, VERO, etc.) a mixture of 10% DMSO with 90% EMEM (70% EMEM + 30% fetal bovine serum + antibiotic mixture) is used. As part of an autologous bone marrow transplant the DMSO is re-infused along with the patient’s own hematopoietic stem cells“
Update: He’s still fine…blood counts are dropping as expected which means the Melphalan is working.
Dr. Sher said the drug should hit this weekend and Day 7 is when the bigger stuff will hit (they are careful not to tell us what that really means…and he (Dr Sher) just keeps telling me to rest as much as possible because my job hasn’t begun yet….\uD83D\uDE31. Keep in mind, transplant day is Day 0 so today is Day 1…..no patient has ever had the “Radioactive Isotope/Cytoxan/Melphalan” cocktail so this should be interesting. Maybe the cure???? All I know is that he looked very different right after the transplant and had a vitality and energy about him that I have not seen in a very long time!! YAY GOD!!!
A Room with a View…yes, I brought him his birding scope to watch the Osprey in the tree and all the other birds that hang around the pond avoiding the Gator…