Well the day of collection arrived! Josh reports it was an eventful night, with him getting sick, and needing his feeding tube re-place, then advanced deeper, then the blood test at 4AM, but the numbers were finally where they needed them! So at 8:30AM him and Drew were escorted to the ICU where the harvest took place. They got him all hooked up to the big machine, that takes his blood out from one of the tubes in his neck, through the machine to filter out the stem cells, and then back into him through the other tube. The process took about 5 hours. They had to closely monitor certain levels in his blood as it was going on, but all went well. He even napped for some of the time, and Josh didn't have any issues keeping him entertained/in bed for the whole time. They got him back to his room on the regular Peds floor about 2PM. They told him that they had to see if he needed any blood products--blood or platelets after the collection, and then obviously how successful the collection was. Drew played a bit but got tired quickly. Something they say to expect in the next few days following the harvest. So another naptime came fast. Finally just now Josh called with the report. They need 8 million stem cells, and our Drewy gave them 19 million!!! What a champ, praise the Lord! We are overjoyed. God is faithful and has heard all our prayers all week. I guess it was worth the waiting all week for a successful collection!! Josh said the doctor said they like to have extra in case they need more over the course of the bone marrow transplant (what we are collecting them for this summer), and are happy to have a whole extra dose. He will need a platelet transfusion today, which I think is happening now. Then, wait for it...he's being released! It was decided to just pull the muherker (that catheter in his neck) and not put in the central line again until Friday, right before the start of Round 5 on Saturday.
Here's him waiting for platelets while Josh packs up. Can't wait to welcome them both home! He sure looks like he's been through a war with all the bandages and medical tape,and he really has. Hopefully we get a nice break in the coming week.
Thank you all for your prayers--no better proof then this that He hears them!
~Heidi
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