100 Days and Counting!

I am Judy, Karen's sister.  She has asked that I post her blog this week as she has been a little "hooked" up.  I say that in the most literal of terms!  Friday, Nov. 5, Karen entered the City Of Hope Cancer Center.  This has become her home away from home for the next month.  She truly couldn't be in better hands for what she is going through.  We spent all day Friday visiting with a steady stream of all the  Dr.'s, nurses, therapists, and dieticians who would be involved with her care.  We were both so amazed at the time each person took to get to know her.  As she said, "I think I'm the only person in this hospital".  It was a great beginning to a long journey.

The Dr.'s and nurses are very proactive with every treatment.  The first chemo drug (given Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights) could cause seizures and so Karen spent Thursday before going in, downing 8 pills to help prevent this.  (And it did.)  She was hooked up 12 hours before the chemo began to anti-nausea medication and Benedryl to calm her and prevent a rash.  These have become an on-going part of the many medications she is taking to prevent some of worst side-effects.  Monday and Wednesday she endured two of the strongest chemo drugs that are ever given.  Each were 20 times stronger than any she had been given before.  Nausea began immediately and also extreme back pain.  Morphine was given to try to ease the pain but increased her nausea.  Karen never complains or carries on.  She is amazing in every way in how she endures treatment after treatment.  Here is a statement I know I will never hear again and could only hear it from Karen.  As I was holding her bed pan she said, "throwing up with chemo isn't as bad as being sick.  It's just part of the process."

As Thursday came and we celebrated Veteran's Day, I told Karen that she is my greatest and bravest hero!  She is going to win this battle, I have no doubt.  Your faith, prayers, and fasting are literally holding her up through this.  As I went in Monday I hadn't had much sleep the night before and was so worried whether or not I could hold up for her.  Through the day I felt the strength and energy I needed and even when she was resting I stayed awake and read.  As I got in my car 12 hours later to drive home I almost collapsed with exhaustion!  I got home and pondered on this and realized that there is strength with her in that room that had sustained me as well as her.  She is certainly not fighting this battle alone.  I was able to share that thought with her as I returned the next day.  She feels that strength also.

Friday was Day 0- day of the stem cell transplant.  Her son Mark and I were both there for this exciting event!  We learned a few more amazing blessings that Karen has received.  Because she was so successful in her stem cell harvest, it only took one time and 3 bags to collect the needed 2 million stem cells to do the infusion.  Each bag takes about 5-6 minutes total from thawing to infusing.  With only 3 bags, Karen's went really smooth and quickly.  We found out that some other patients have taken up to 16 bags to retrieve the needed cells and their infusion can takes a few hours.  It was amazing to watch as each bag was taken from the freezer, to thawing water, through the hands of 2 nurses and hooked up and into Karen.  With each infusion she would feel the cold blood in her veins- it burned a little and made her cough.  Then as soon as the bag was empty, the symptoms stopped.  They had told her that she would emit a smell like creamed corn (from the preservative in the stem cells).  It was true!  She smelled of it all day long.  I will never be able to open a can of creamed corn again without thinking of that day.

So, she began what is known as the 100 day count down to living close to normal again.  It will take that long for all her cells to regenerate and for her body to be able to once again fight infection.  I have learned that fighting cancer is not for the faint of heart or spirit.  It is fought and won by the most determined, strong souls ever to live.  In a quote from Elder Maxwell in his biography he said, "Sometimes the Lord hastens His work in our spiritual development by a compression of experiences... Sometimes the best people... have the worst experiences... because they are the most ready to learn."  That is Karen.  I can just see her choosing this experience for what she could learn:).

I will end with a Karen funny.  Mark had come for a few hours one day (he comes for a few hours everyday and is a wonderful son!) and so I decided to go out shopping.  We were whispering because Karen seemed to be in a deep sleep and a nurse was adding new meds to her IV.  I asked Mark if he knew where Last Chance was.  Out of her chemo coma Karen pipes in with "I know the address, it's 20th and Camelback".  Mark and I just looked at each other and laughed.  She is more on top of things with her chemo brain than I am on any given day!  She is amazing!


This is a bag of her stem cells on their way into her!