Science Fiction

This is the treatment plan we got today showing Annie's regimen from May 5th (day -8) to May 24th (day 11).  Day -8 she moves into the "hotel."  Day -7 she gets total body irradiation.  She was measured for this today.  She will stand for 12 minutes in one direction and 12 in the other while having 2 Gy of TBI beamed at her.  Days -6 to -3 she'll receive chemotherapy.  Days -4 to -1 she'll have ATG (this is the treatment she had most recently a year ago March).  Day 0 she receives the donated stem cells.  Days 1, 3, 6 and 11 she gets another small does of chemotherapy.  All during this time she gets one cocktail of drugs after another to deal with side-effects, to reduce the risk of complications and to manage pain and discomfort.  She'll also get fluids and nutrition and medicines to help flush all the poisons through her system.

While sewing a wound or setting a bone can seem very intuitive, transplant medicine seems more like science fiction.  That all these chemicals can circulate in a body and create different effects is remarkable and should inspire as much awe as our cutting-edge electronics.

Annie is finishing up platelet and hemoglobin transfusions now and her next scheduled appointment is for May 2nd.