Bone Marrow Transplant

Back to my cancer story. December I checked myself into the hospital for preparation of my bone marrow transplant. Bob started his new job, kids were in school and I was on my way to get more chemo, radiation and finally a bone marrow transplant. I started my chemo and after two weeks I did eight days of full body radiation. I was doing pretty good but not great. Then right before my bone marrow transplant they gave me a super heavy dose of chemo and I was in a lot of pain. My brother donated his bone marrow on December 18, 2018 and I received the bone marrow on December 19th. Happy Birthday to me! The nurses came in with a cupcake and sang happy birthday. I even dressed up for the occasion.

With my nurse (aka. Angel) Natalia.

I was ok for about a week and then everything started going down hill. I was in the hospital through Christmas which sucked but I was so focused on what I had to do. The doctors put me on medication for the pain and I started hallucinating...bad. My face was getting bloated and I knew that was not a good sign. They brought me down to do CT scan and I was hallucinating badly. I thought the technicians were drinking wine and having a big party. They brought me back up and my doctor came in and said that my lungs were filling up with fluid and I was running on thirty percent oxygen. If they did not intubate me I would go into cardiac arrest. I don't remember this but thank God my husband was there. I still do not know how he dealt with this...Bob is my angel.

I went to ICU and I was intubated for two days so they could drain out the fluids in my lungs. I woke up on New Years day. The first face I saw was my dear husband. Bob said, with a big smile on his face, "You look great." What? I look great. Where the hell am I? All I could say was, Am I going to die? My family came in so happy to see me and all I could say was, am I going to die? The nurses would come up to me and all I would say is am I going to die?

I laid awake for twenty four hours because I was so afraid if I fell asleep I would die.

Then I had a new nurse named Christian. He was this little buffed dude and I liked his energy. I said, Christian, am I going to die? He looked at me and said Lori you need to fight. You are not as sick as you think you are and you have to fight. Do you think I look like this because I just started at the gym yesterday? He said, today we are going to walk and I will show you what sick is. I thought he was nuts. Me walk? Sure enough Christian brought the physical therapist over and said what kind of music to you like to listen too? I said how about some Motown. They got me up, I held on to the walker and they held onto me. We walked around the floor and Christian pointed to someone in their hospital bed. They said that person is sick, your not that sick. Walked to the next room, that person is sick, your not that sick. I walked the whole floor. Christian told me that by the end of the day I would be out of ICU. Again, I thought he was Cuckoo! By 2 a.m. that night I was back on the 12th floor. Christian was a blessing because he had faith in me when I could not have it for myself.

I was on the 12th floor now but I felt like shit and hopeless. I just did not have the energy to fight. This is why prayer is so important. All of you who prayed and sent positive energy kept me going when I did not have the strength. Thank you. Really, thank you. I was having a lot of tests done now for my heart because of the stress it went through. I was on the chair passed out and my priest, Father Greg, came in to see me. I woke up and he was standing in front of me. I barely had any strength to speak with him. I remember asking Father Greg, what if God wants me? Father Greg looked at me and said, Lori, God doesn't want you. God wants you to be healthy and have a happy life with your family. I said, Really? He said yes, that is what God wants for all of us. Father Greg's words gave me strength and a miracle happened. They doctors put me on prednisone that night and the next morning I had some energy. Dr. Olin came in and said if everything goes as planned you should be able to go home in a couple of weeks. WHAT? I am going to make it. I am going to make it. Now I fought. I was Rocky in the last round. I was determined. My life depended on it. Literally.

Prayer is so powerful. My friends will ask me advice on what they should do for a sick friend. I always say pray. Start a prayer group, send a card with a prayer in it, send a text with a prayer. When I was in the hospital and even now, if someone asks me what they can do for me I ask them to pray. God is listening and wants to be part of our lives. If you know someone who needs a prayer, even if its yourself. Go ahead, pray, it heals.