Yesterday Tami didn't feel well but still ate breakfast lunch and dinner. Which is really good news because eating will help her to recover faster. She was also able to get some much needed rest.
I will be receiving a more detailed update later this morning and will update this post at that time.
I will be receiving a more detailed update later this morning and will update this post at that time.
Update 10:46 am: Today Tami showed the first signs of Mucositis. This is the formal name of the mouth sores I have mentioned a few times in past posts. Most marrow transplant patients develop the condition to a lesser or greater degree. We are of course hoping Tami's case will be a mild one.
Mucositis is caused by damage to the cells that create mucous throughout the entire GI tract from mouth to anus. Though it can effect any part of the GI tract most transplant patients experience oral/mouth mucositis. Basically the cells that create mucous to keep the mouth moist are damaged by the chemo causing the mouth to become susceptible to infections. This causes the mouth to develop sores that can range from being mild to completely debilitating with large areas of the mouth developing painful ulcerations like canker sores. In worst cases patients cannot eat due to the pain and need to be given nutrients by tube feeding to keep up their strength during recovery.
Tami is at the beginning stage of showing signs of Mucositis but her doctors are pleased with her overall progress. They said most patients develop the condition earlier then Tami has and they have remarked since her arrival that her body is coming through everything with extremely good responses to the medicines and procedures.
I also learned that when her Doctor said she received a "Good batch" of stem cells he meant the volume of stem cells was unusually high. In layman's terms patients can receive as few as 2 million kg of stem cells for their transplant but Tami's donor sent her 11 million kg. So she received a very high dose of stem cells which improves her odds of a successful outcome.
We can never thank her anonymous donor enough. For now they cannot meet but a year after the transplant date, if both would like to know who the other person is, the donor program will facilitate that happening. So for now we'll keep thanking her donor from the bottom of our hearts here on her website and blog on the off chance he is reading them.
Posted by Stacie (Tami's cousin)
Divine Mother Prayer
ReplyDelete“Divine Mother, Thou art omnipresent. Thou art in all Thy children. Thou art in Tami. Manifest Thy healing presence in her body, mind and soul.”
I hold my hands over your head and send you energy to heal.