Tuesday, March 24, 2009

March 25, 2009

Bone marrow treatment went much better and easier than I expected. I was a bit "high" when I dictated the following notes to Jason right after I was returned to my room, so my apologoies if they don't quite connect.

For the bone marrow treatment I was shaved and prepped, then wheeled down to the third floor. I was then wheeled into an operating room and transferred from my hosptial bed to the surgical table. When I arrived in the surgery room there were at least five people already in there, all of them were chattering quickly at the same time in Chinese. Very noisy. They put me on my right side and made me very comfortable with blankets. Then I was hooked up to a heart monitor and an automatic blood pressure cuff. Next an IV was inserted into the back of my right hand, after removing yesterday's stem cell IV from my left hand. They put an oxygen mask over my face and asked me several times if I was comfortable. They then washed my bum and back with a very cold solution several times and kept pressing on the knob of my hip bone located just below on left kidney. Next, the anesthesia was injected via the IV, and I slowly drifted off to sleep. Next thing I knew I awoke to see my attending physican, Dr. Mary, who asked me if I was comfortable. I spent about 10 minutes in the recovery room then was wheeled back up to a my room, where I was monitored for approximately ten minutes. No pain whatsoever, and they were all so conscientious about my comfort, it was very important to them. Their anesthesia is so good! Makes you feel like “Oh yeah, nothing in the world will affect me.” I entered the operating room at 8:02 and left at 9:00 am, where I was told I could eat and drink something. I am now required to stay in bed for 24 hours, and cannot shower for three days.

They extracted 200 milliliters of bone marrow from my system which will be cultivated and returned to my system via IV in 13 days. I thought a lumbar puncture would be necessary, but was told for MD patients, no lumbar punctures are preformed.

Here's a shot of the hospital from the street. We are on the very top floor.

13 comments:

  1. Hey, good deal--sounds like it went great. Will you have to have that done again, or just the once? That's quite a building!

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  2. Psshhhh Russell and you were worried it would hurt :) Glad everything went well! ~Marie

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  3. No lumbar puncture -- that's a relief! Your message didn't sound incoherent. Having taken dictation for years, I'm sure you're conscientious about giving it.

    They shaved your back and bum, huh? Smooth like a baby's rear end! If they shaved my back and bum, the leavings could make a wig.

    --Tyler

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  4. Way to go Russ. I just read your newspaper article. You are a celebrity. Hope you are doing well. Prayers to ya
    Janice

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  5. Well Tyler posted WAY too much information concerning his backside! That being said, your blog is way too cool and such a great way to keep us all informed! I've loved keeping up with your happenings. You're in the local paper...you rock star! Here's the link:
    http://www.newberggraphic.com/

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  6. Hi I just found your blog from the stemcell china site. My daughter has a congenital form of muscular dystrophy. We have no specific diagnosis yet but she possibly has Nemaline myopathy or central core disease. I am really keen to know about your results with stemcell therpy. Looking forward to hearing more.

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  7. Hi Kerry,
    Good question for me to respond to. The bone marrow treatment is a one-time treatment. Why, I'm not sure. Maybe its just not necessary unless I were to come back for another series of treatments, but they don't recommend that for at least a year.

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  8. Tyler,
    Yep, all clean and smooth! You're jealous, I can tell!!

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  9. Sorry it's taken me so long to "catch up" on what's been going on, Russ. This is actually my first-ever post to a blog. Now I'm a real "techie." Rochelle and I are praying for you and wishing you all the best. We'll look forward to seeing you when you get back and showing you the new goats which should be arriving in the next few weeks...

    Matt

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  10. Well, I sure wish I could get the picture of Tyler out of my head!! That being said, I thought you did a great job of dictating. It sounds like you are doing well over there, or are you keeping any pain to yourself? Thanks for putting me on your shopping list. Love, Linda

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  11. Yes, I'm keeping most of the pain to myself, actually. The electronically stimulated accupuncture is quite painful sometimes. I had a rough day today with it, and had to tell my PT to take the damn needles out! The PT is exhausting, but in a good way. A bit of pain due to astrophied muscles, but a hot shower usally helps.

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  12. Russ,

    You are still in my prayers. I hope you continue to do well with your treatments.


    Michelle

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  13. Hey Russ, haven't you learned "pain killer" in Mandarin yet? Stay strong. What is that phrase again? "pain is just weakness leaving the body"?

    Sound like things are really interesting, with the new energy and all. Keeping our fingers crossed and praying.

    Krog

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