Friday, September 11, 2009

The Transplant is Complete!!





Thank you everyone for praying today!! The whole process was very anti-climactic :) They basically brought in a syringe of cord blood (that was previously frozen) and then it was given through his broviac. The nurse pushed in 60cc's over about an hour while I held Dylan in my lap. They had him hooked up to monitors to check his vitals every 10 minutes. His blood pressure went up during the transfusion, but that was expected. There was a short time when they put him on oxygen because his stats came down a little bit, but that was due to him being frustrated and crying. There is a preservative in the blood (since it is frozen until use) and it makes the recipients breath smell like creamed-corn. So while Dylan was getting his cells, he was breathing out the creamed-corn breath!! The whole room was filled with the aroma--it was quite strange, but interesting :) So if you would like to know what his breath smelled like, then open a can of creamed-corn and take a WHIFF!! Ha!! I know that some of you are going to do it! :) He is now resting comfortably on Grandma (Erik's mom) and is trying to get some sleep. He has only eaten once today and does not seem very hungry-so his eating days may be coming to an end for a while. He will be put on TPN (total nutrition through IV) tonight, so we will not have to worry about him eating.
THE NEXT STEP:
The next step is the waiting game.......wait.....watch....and pray. The new cells will start to engraft in about 7-10 days. That is when they will be starting to reproduce and fill his marrow with new healthy cells. The final goal is to have 100%donor cells and 0% Dylan cells. This whole process will take about 3 months to be fully grafted. The side effects will be coming soon-usually within 3-5 days. His mucous membrane throughout his GI tract will be stripped, and because D does not have an immune system right now, he will not be able to replace it. That is when the sores will come. On his bottom, his throat, and his mouth--this is unavoidable after transplant--so please pray that it is minimal. IF the sores in his throat get bad, they may have to intubate him and place him on a breathing machine or ventilator. If this is necessary, he will be moved to the PICU and will be unconcious for 4-5 days. He may get a rash, fevers, and nausea. All of these things are to be expected and will all be temporary. They will usually subside within the first two weeks. During this time, Dylan will not be able to have visitors because of his non-existent immune system. This is now the time for his body to start healing itself from the inside. Please pray that the cells engraft quickly and that his body does not reject the new cells and the new cells do not reject his body. They say that children, particulary babies, are very resilient and that he should recover quickly-and that is what we are praying for!! The battle is not over yet, and in a way, we have just begun. Today is day 0-and tomorrow will be day 1 post transplant. We cannot wait to get into the higher number of days!! Thank you everyone for being diligent in praying for our precious boy!!


In His hands every second of every day,

Michelle, Erik, and Baby Dylan

6 comments:

  1. Anti-climactic is a good thing! I can't stand cream corn so I am glad I wasn't there... but for Dylan I would deal with it! :) I love you all and I can't wait to see you tommarow!

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  2. Praise God! I am so thankful it has been calm (at least as calm as a transplant can be!). You guys are troopers! I hope and pray Dylan's recovery is as smooth and quick (and anti-climatic) as his surgery was!

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  3. Praying so much for baby Dylan. That he will have minimal side affects and that the bone marrow transplant will be successful.

    Also praying for his sweet family. Michelle, your courage and faith in God amazes me continually.

    I went to church camp at the same time as Erik and his siblings. (Just so you know that I'm not some crazy stalker!) :)

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  4. I stumbled upon your blog awhile ago from a previous blog reader and now I can't leave! First time posting...Thinking of sweet baby Dylan and praying all goes well with his transplant! Keep your head held high Mom & Dad! You are doing great! :)
    Mommy from Indiana

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  5. Keeping precious baby Dylan in my prayers!!

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  6. Will continue to keep you all in my prayers. Prayer is what will help get you through this. Give Dylan a kiss and tell him he has stole a lot of our hearts and we eagerly await some pictures of his beautiful smile. God Bless you all.

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