My Life As A New Mommy & Multiple Myeloma Warrior: Day +2

Morning selfie with mommy

Today is called Day +2 after my transplant. Everything is looking good and going according to plan per the nurses (RN's) and nurse practitioners (NP's) we have seen the last few days. I am tired. Really tired. And, they say that it will only get worse by around Day +6 to +8. That's when my white blood cells (WBC's) will be at zero and I will have no immune system again. Scary to think, don't ya think?

I still wear my Fitbit. I may not get many steps in each day the last few days, but it's still tracking my sleep. My usual sleep/night is anywhere from 5-8 hours. Closer to 5 usually. The last few days I have been averaging anywhere from 10-12 hours of sleep. Actually, last night alone I had just over 11 hours. That's not including naps. Crazy to think, huh? It shows how hard my body is working right now. I do get in walks too. Actually, we are basically across the street from the Cancer Center, so Eric and I walk there and back for my appointments. I'm sure in a few days it'll be different. But, we are playing it all by ear.

Fun with Nanny & Grandpa Hoover

Something else one of the NP's told us today is that before my transplant, I was in remission, or complete response. The transplant was to help me stay that way longer. We knew that my numbers were really low, but to know that they were really almost undetectable and gone, was nice to hear. Had there been more of the "junk cells" (Myeloma cells) there, I would be on a few other medications right now also. But, because I was technically in remission, I don't have to be on them. I know some people will wonder why I still had the transplant if I was already in remission. The way it was explained to us a few months ago is that the best way to be in remission and stay in remission longer is to have the transplant. And, in order to have the transplant work, it is better to be in remission or close to it. Back when I started my chemo in November 2015, my numbers were at 5000. Within a month of chemo treatments that dropped to 500. And, over time, gradually went down. But the end of April, my numbers were at 0.67. As in LESS than 1. Which, that's almost undetectable. At that point, I was basically in remission, or complete response. So, all of this I am going through now, is still very good. It will help give me a much longer life than had we not found this cancer when we did and waited until I was in kidney failure or worse.

Teether Time

I get my time in with Brandon too. Not as much as I'd like, but I do get to spend time with him. And, he definitely loves it. He gets so excited to see me. Its the little things like that that keep me going. I've said it before, and I'll say it again...he is my reason. He's the one who brought attention to my cancer, so I believe he deserves the world. Which, he definitely gets. Part of why I am so tired is probably from watching him crawl all over the place. And he's fast. One minute he's right there in front of you, you turn your head and look again and he's across the room. Not only crawling everywhere, but pulling himself up and walking along all the furniture. It won't be long before he's walking unassisted. I can see it. Yesterday he even stood on his own for probably 5 seconds. I was the only one who saw it and couldn't get a picture it was so fast. Eric and I keep saying, he's going to hit all the big milestones right now while here at Stanford. Maybe all. Like his first tooth. We feel like he's been teething since he was 4 months old and nothing is popping through yet. The last few days though, the only thing giving him any relief is chewing/sucking on his frozen teether. Luckily I thought to bring it.

Well, it's after 10pm now. I am exhausted and struggling to keep my eyes open. I wanted to give a little update and also thank everybody, again, for your calls, texts, e-mails, FB messages, IG messages, and help. We really do appreciate it all. It shows just how amazing our family and friends are. Thank you!