Chemotherapy

So a couple of days after i got in here, they had to do a bone marrow biopsy to see what type/ how aggressive the Leukemia is. they numbed me up and screwed a needle through my bone and slurped out some bone marrow. Sounds rough, but it was that bad. I have AML, as opposed to ALL, i could go into the differences, but there arnt that many for you to worry about. anywho, they found that I have a complex mutaion, which means its high risk because more than 3 chromosomes are mutated, which means we have a plan of attack for treatment. I just finished a week of chemotherapy, which is not at all what i had expected. It's just a super high dose medicine recieved through an IV, along with some pills. The after math has been rough, as this medicine is just sort of killing all the white blood cells in me. basically like a controlled poison. Im going to stay here for the rest of the month, as my blood counts go back up, i will be able to leave near the end of april, and hopefully I will be in recession.

Once home, I kind of have to stay under house arrest, as my body will still be super fragile and susceptible to infections. then after a month, the plan is to have a bone marrow transplant. It's really the only way to fix the type of leukemia I have, and there are many risks that go into this procedure, which is really the scariest part. The best case scenario is that my sister is a match. there is a 25% chance that she is, and if so, after the month of being home i would come back for more chemo for a couple days, then jump right into the bone marrow transplant, which is also done differently than I has presumed. Apparantly they would take blood from an artery in my sister (or donor)'s neck, skim it for stem cells, then feed the stem cells into me with blood through an IV. and give her the blood back. and then the stem cells find their way to the mutated genes in my bone marrow and change them. Like scrubbing bubbles, they do the work so you don't have to. Its pretty wild to think about. once the stem cells alter my bone marrow, I will have a brand new immune system. they will need to keep me here for a month, then once released, i need to check in with the hospital 2 times a week, and can never be left alone for the next 4 or 5 months on account of the risky side effect Graft vs Host disease.

Graft vs Host disease is basically where the new immune system kills all the leukemia cells, but is so strong it could cause inflammation to my organs, and thats what they need to monitor during my visits after. Suposedly it is good to show minor signs of GvH to ensure that the transplant killed off all the leukemia. who knows how my body will react to the new immune system, it just depends on how well it matches. it sucks, and its a bummer having to wait, but it's the only thing they can do. I've got youth on my side, but even still it just depends on the match.

and there comes another issue, If my sister is not a match, they said it could take anywhere from 2 months to a year to find a match in the bone marrow registry, they have no idea until they type me, it all depends on heriatge and race. so I'm praying that my sister is a match and we can jump right into this, otherwise I'm going to have to be coming back every other month for more chemo to keep the Leukemia at bay until we find a compatible donor. If anybody wants to enter the registry program they should contact the NMDP (national marrow donor program) or head to a local hospital and they can type you. I dont know how hard it will be, but the more the marrier and I would appreciate it more than anything.

Thats sort of an update as of now, should be bringing it day by day after this, but to everyone who wants to know whats going on, thats whats goin on. The support from everyone has been phenominal and i cant wait to break outta this joint. visits are always welcome, unless im feeling like hell, just give me a call. i love everyone.