12.4.16

The excitement of my last GCSF jab last night has done nothing to help me sleep. Its half past flipping 4 and my eyes are wide open. Amanda Lamb is selling houses on TV and i can hear the slight rumble of Sam snoring down stairs.
Today is stem cell harvest day. I feel i should take a wicker basket to  hospital with me to collect my little life savers along with a bunch of carrots, some onions and large bag of potatoes. Sadly I don't think its gonna be as much fun as harvesting a busy allotment.  Although more important!
Every little thing leads to anxiety, something I've not really been used to in the past. Last nights jab let the anxiety go out of the front door with the 2 lovely nurses as they left. I was so happy i even did a little dance, as well as partaking in a bag of mini cheddars. Eating at 10pm! Not something i allow myself to do cos of feeling so stuffed all the time. Im hoping by tonight i will feel a new woman.
The anxiety returned pretty quickly though.
The night terrors are back, albeit fairly mild. I have woken the last 3 nights panicking cos i haven't taken my meds........here we go again. I don't take any meds at nighttime. Last night i recall waking, putting on the light and searching for a push button? I seemed to remember i should have pressed it before bed. It really makes no sense.  And it takes a while for my sleepy head to realise I'm being an idiot.
So here i am. The alarm is set for 7.00am, something quite alien to me, and I'm wide awake now. Time to think about what the day holds for me. Im hoping i don't have to have the huge cannula inserted into my arm, hoping my kick man line is enough. Hoping i can park close by. And hoping the procedure doesn't take too long. My desire is to get home quick whenever I'm in hospital.
Stay right there.......I'll let you know how it goes.
Ive arrived.
Im back in the Dorset Cancer Centre, catchy little name, isn't it? Its nice to see all the girls who did my chemo last time, although id rather still be at home, in bed.
Ive had bloods taken to check my stem cells are suitably prolific and waiting for the results. If they come back too low, i'll eat my spleen!
They came back at 360 as opposed to the 400 last time. The acceptable amount is 15!
So i was transferred to my room where the machine had been cranked up. All the bags were in place to fulfil the procedure. Some special magic cream was applied to my inner elbow for in case they needed to cannulate me.
My Kickman line was my first problem. I was hoping it would be used but unfortunately it set the machine bleeping and alarming, regardless of the fact that they had used a wide bore line specially to accommodate the machine and its actions. So i was threatened with a cannula.
Oh what a disaster.
The cannula needed was a wide bore one - bloody mahoosive!
I was jabbed, jabbed again and then the other arm was attacked. Yes the arm that didn't have the magic cream. It was jabbed, jabbed again and then Jo (my favourite chemo nurse from my first lot of treatment) came and had a go. If anyone can do it, Jo can do it!
Nope.
Fergus came in and he had a fiddle with a tourniquet and my cubital fossa (that area on the inside of the elbow thats is commonly used for taking blood)!
He suggested i have some Medazolam to relax me, hoping that would help.
Ooh it was lovely.
It didn't work tho. My vein still had the barrier across - NO ENTRY.
A consultant anaesthetist, Chris Loew was bribed with a Kit Kat by Fergus to come and insert a femoral line.
He used ultrasound to check out my arm veins, but there was no chance he would get it in there.
I requested medazolam again. He wasn't too keen, but i managed to talk him round.
'With medazolam, you can do what you want,' i said.
Whilst i floated round the room, he inserted a femoral line.
He was lovely. Heres a picture of the little darling. I took the photo when i was high! I did ask his permission about 10 minutes later when i was more normal, whatever that is.

And heres the line, and oh the shame, you can see some hairs! Ive said before i look like a tarantula, and heres the proof! Please forgive me, i know not what i do.
Stem cell retrieval started and the machine didn't play ball. It kept making noises and sending messages.
Eventually it started to do its job. The bag for the plasma filled up, and the bag with the little stem cells filled up.

These are a very few stem cells. Im not hoping to fill the whole bag, but you never can tell.

This is a view of the machine in action. The left bag is heparin which mixes with the blood before its returned to stop it clotting, the next i think is just saline. The little one in the middle I've forgotten! Don't forget i was high for a period of this procedure. The next is my plasma and the last one the stem cells, possibly a little too red cos the machine couldn't find the right level being as there was soooooooo many stem cells.

And whilst I'm posting photos......heres one of the man himself, Dr Jack, and Sammie one of the lovely nurses - although thats another story!! Suffice to say she doesnt like it when her hubby snores. She's been known to throw things!!! Ill leave it there. 

Isn't he lovely? It looks in this picture as if he's lovingly cooked me a meal and is handing over the plate, either that or these are the divorce papers for his wife!

Oh god if he ever read this blog and the comments i make about him, he'd be mortified, and so would I. 

Anyway, long after Fergus and Chris escaped, Sammie and Clair, the specialist nurses weren't convinced i was getting good quality retrieval. 

To cut a long story short, i have been admitted to Sandbanks ward.  Im awaiting a telephone call to tell me if enough cells were taken. If there was enough, they will remove my line and send me home. If there wasn't enough, i have to stay in overnight and do it all again!
Stem cells crossed.