BMT Schedule

Luke’s schedule for the rest of the year is firming up. As of last week insurance has approved the transplant and he was taken off all chemo in preparation for a bone marrow transplant. Prior to the BMT he has been/will be down at MDA 2-3 days a week for testing. The blood draw this week was pretty extensive – he took a picture of all the tubes of which they must have been a dozen. Luke also had bone marrow drawn this week to check for blast cells. They do not want to risk problems with his port so he will be getting a PICC line with 3 or 4 ports to accommodate everything he will need following the transplant. Next week he gets a pulmonary assessment. Kendall is in town next week to begin her screening. I am not sure what all is involved but they wanted he here over the weekend to see her on Monday after her initial testing. If all goes according to plan Luke will be admitted on Sunday December 1. Upon admission he will begin four days of chemo to kill off his bone marrow cells. He will be receiving two different chemos. It’s hard to think of this as chemo therapy, one because they are designed to kill all his bone marrow and not to just target cancer cells and two the names for the chemos are better suited for drain cleaners. As with any chemo there can be side effects. For one of the chemos he will receive a low dosage the week before transplant to allow the transplant team to assess how his body assimilates it. Following the 4th day of chemo Luke rests for 2 days and will be given the bone marrow transplant on December 7th. Kendall will make another trip to Houston and they will draw her bone marrow the same day it will be given to Luke. The bone marrow transplant itself is described as an uneventful process as it only involves hanging a bag like a blood transfusion. December 7th is designated as “Day 0” by the transplant team and everything else is scheduled off of that date. From day 0 it’s a lot of wait and see. They expect to see white cell production somewhere between day 10 and 14. The big variable is Graft to Host Disease (GTHD). The transplant team wants to see some GTHD as it is a sign his body is recognizing the graft cells. Luke will not be discharged until is white count exceeds a safe threshold. Xmas will probably be at MDA. For those reading this in Houston, Luke is going to need a lot of platelets and blood. Over the holidays blood supply is always a problem. While not everyone donating will match Luke he will be given priority if there are replacements units donated in Luke’s name. I am going to try to set up a blood drive on Saturday December 6 with MDA at the Residence Club. Please email me at dmnovick4@gmail.com if you think you will be able to donate so I can get an idea if the numbers can support having MDA do a drive.