It is the close of Kathy’s new second birthday – let’s mark our calendars for June 6 as an annual event.

The transplant went smoothly today. The staff is now busy helping Kathy to rest and create a new immune system. She will be staying at Moffitt for approximately two more weeks, give or take a couple of days if all goes well. For now, she is strong and feeling pretty well.

They tell us the side effects kick in between days 5 and 9 after the chemo, and it is not really possible to know what effects she will experience. There is a lot of monitoring and supplementing (fluids, nutrition, drugs to counter drugs) going on, and hopefully the side effects can be minimized or kept at bay. Of course sleep is a premium.

I am in awe at how much strength and grace our dear friend has. She seems well equipped for the healing process. Please continue to send moral support and loving thoughts.

Mark will be coming to Moffitt this weekend for a quick visit and care taker training, and then again when Kathy is discharged (around the 17th give or take a couple of days). They will be staying in Tampa for approximately two more weeks while Moffitt monitors the progress of Kathy’s immune system.

Hopefully Kathy will be home by July 4th or sooner.

It has been a privilege to support Kathy through what is truly a journey, and to share the love of the Albanese and Tognino families for their daughter, wife, mother. Her friends have also been an amazing support network.

I will be leaving Tampa tomorrow to start the trip back to NJ. My heart will be here with Kathy, and with her family.

I am going to leave Kathy the password just in case she wants to continue to post messages for us.

Hugs and kisses to all.

Anne

photo below from girls trip to Miami 2016.  Kathy and me with the alligator statue at The One, South Beach

The stem cells have been transferred, she is getting fluids, etc. and some rest.

Stem cell transfusion has begun. Three bags of stem cells to be transfused. Thawed one at a time. Process should take less than an hour. Will  update once completed.

No treatments today, just rest and relaxation.  Kathy had an in room massage, spa music on the TV.  Napping now to the Zen sounds.  All is well, good appetite, good spirits (and I don’t mean bourbon!).  Lots of visits by PT, dietician, doctors, etc., etc.  Kathy has done 5 laps around the floor this morning with 5 more to go.

It is true what they say about hospitals, every time she dozes off, another person comes in for something.

The massage therapist has a queue, so after the massage this am, Kathy dropped to the bottom of the queue, but the therapist will cycle back when Kathy is on top again.

 

Goodnight all!

We have arrived and luckily the room was ready! Kathy is in the west tower, 3rd floor – 3W Room 3711. The room is quite large with a little sofa, a recliner, a desk, a table and bed and bathroom. Visitors are cleared daily for health – I got a sticker that lets me be here for the day, will check-in accordingly every day.

Today will largely be spent reviewing history, taking blood, etc. Chemo is planned for this evening, once cleared by the attending. Likely to occur around 10 pm this evening.

Kathy gets to order from the menu (between 7am-9 pm), and the hospital is busy to give her services. She has ordered a massage and yoga teacher…..

Signing off for now.

Over 7 million cells collected, which is apparently enough!

We are celebrating. Pizza out 👍🏻🙂!This completes the extraction process.  We are heading back to Naples and will return Monday for the transplant.

Thanks Moffitt.  We are back at hotel now, will get results this evening.  Hopefully we are cleared to head back to Naples!

In process…….

Well, it sure seems longer, but it is the end of the fourth day of visiting the clinic. Only two visits today. Many of Kathy’s numbers look better than they have in a while, so she is very excited about that (kidney function and creatin levels). These are not a function of this week’s treatment, but very very good news nonetheless.

Tomorrow morning (very early) we will be going to the clinic for the stem cell harvesting. This is the culmination of this week’s treatment. The process will take about 4 hours, and the subsequent lab testing will take about 4 hours. So by tomorrow evening we will know if enough cells have been harvested or if we have to return. So keep your fingers crossed and pray for a good outcome on the first round.

If another round is needed, there will be another set of injections tomorrow night with a repeat the next day. So it would be really nice to avoid, but patience and faith in the process is our mantra.

Other than clinic visits, we have been doing a good bit of touring in the Tampa Bay area. Today we went downtown and to Harbour Island for dinner on the bay, where we dreamt of spending time on yachts like these. We also drove past the cruise ship area and through Ybor City (saw the Columbia restaurant – thanks for the recommendation Tom Lockyer).