Living With Lymphoma: New Life

On June 7th I was admitted again at UCSF hospital to start the transplant process. The first night they told me my port was not sufficient and that I would need a PICC line. They placed the line in my right arm. It was a little unsettling because I could actually feel the tube being fed in my vein which led to the center of my chest, near my heart.

I started the CBV chemo regimen right away. This therapy was extremely difficult. I now know why the Dr. was calling it "the Bomb"! It literally wiped me out like I was hit with one. At a few different points while getting chemo, I felt like I was crawling out of my own skin. My head felt like exploding! I got sick almost every day. It was awful. For the first time they had to give me drugs through IV to stop the pain and help me sleep a little. My counts dropped to less than zero. I was then ready to receive the transplant.

Having my new fresh cells being placed back into my body was a very odd experience. They warned me of the "tomato soup" smell, that ended up taking over the air in my room for a few days. The process tickled my throught and I coughed a lot while each tiny bag was defrosted and placed into my PICC line. Six tiny bags, hopefully cured me that day. I now have two birthdays! My Re-Birthday is June 14th 2013. A day I will never forget.

Picc line placed