The Stem Cell Transplant in a very simple NutShell

You might remember that in January.

Jenny and I were at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, so that her stem cells could be collected for a future

stem cell transplant.

That was then.

This is now.

On Thursday of this week,

Jenny had her stem cells returned to her body.

This is how it went.

With the chemo having been given on Tuesday

and a Day of rest on Wednesday,

Thursday morning, the nurse brought in the first of 4 packages that contained Jenny's stem cells.

This was package #1.

The stem cells were then hooked up to the IV Pole.

The nurse did this.

Jenny's identity was checked against the name and numbers on the bar code of the bag of cells.

The nurse then hooked the line up to Jenny's port,

and 

the stem cells were then infused back into Jenny's body.

All four bags of cells were returned to her.

Now,

we wait.

We're Here!

This is the outside view from our motel room. We made it safe and sound to Rochester. See the shuttle bus in the corner? I assume that is what we will ride tomorrow to get to Mayo clinic from the motel. We are hoping to check into the Gift of Life Transplant House on Wednesday, assuming that Jenny is feeling better. She has such a bad cold right now. We can't stay at the GOL because she is sick and the patrons there are immuno suppressed. They could get very ill if they caught her cold. Anyway, it's late and I'm ready for bed right now. I forgot my toothbrush and tooth paste at home. I have to get dressed again and go to the front desk to get some. I better get my rear in gear. I don't want to keep Jenny up. I'm just not sleepy right now. Time to read and pray.

The Journey Begins and Continues

The door is shut. The house sitters are in settled into the house. The car is packed. The wind is cold, but the roads are open. The weather is good.

Jenny and I walk out the door and head off to Mayo Clinic for her stem cell harvest. This is the next step in Jenny's journey to a cure for her cancer.

The doctors at Mayo will harvest Jenny's own stem cells and freeze them so that they can be used at a later date. We don't know when Jenny's stem cells will be used for her stem cell transplant. That's up to the doctors. We are hoping it will be a long time before that happens.

This step, the harvest, is now. We will keep you updated. Jenny's caring bridge site can be found here.
Look for progress up dates there.

Now the journey has begun. The first step is taken.
We are on the road!!!!