Lauren finished her radiotherapy on Friday - thankfully that's over. She's had a serum made from horse blood which is currently killing off her Lymphocytes (T-cells), to minimise the chance of her T-cells killing off the donor stem cells when transplanted. She spiked a fever most likely from this, but has since bounced back. She has more or less stopped eating and is fed through a nasal tube which will take her through 
transplant. Tomorrow (Monday) she starts on the heavy duty chemo in preparation for the transplant which is planned for Wednesday night or Thursday night depending on how many 'harvests' are required from the donor to provide sufficient stem cells from her marrow. The transplant coordinator, Lucy actually flew out of here on Friday to collect the donor marrow and bring it back to Sydney personally. The first harvest is planned for Monday morning UK time.We now have to keep her room as clean as possible to minimise infection. Julie & I have stopped wearing watches and rings so our hands have less chance where bacteria can congregate and we wash our hands numerous times through the day. We also clean the room floor a couple of times a day (standard practice in a transplant room - minimises the number of people walking through with cleaners etc). Julie wants alcohol wipes for home - she's taken a layer off the floor already (anyone who knows how she cleans windows knows what I'm talking about!!), .....and happy for this to continue if it minimises the chances of infections for Lauren. Lauren is spending most of the time in bed, a bit of time on her computer (thanks to Bruce and the team at St Johns Primary School, Highgate) and either sleeps or watches a bit of TV. Mucositis (ulcers) - is starting in her mouth and throat and she will go on morphine tomorrow for pain management.
"Mucositis affects the rapidly dividing mucosal cells lining the mouth, throat, stomach, and intestines. These cells normally have a short life span. The therapy can destroy the cells quickly and they are not replaced right away. There may be raw sores (ulcers) in the mouth and throat. One may have a feeling a little like getting a sunburn in the throat. It is painful, can interfere with eating, and may require pain medication for a week or two until the tissues recover.
Mucositis due to chemotherapy typically begins 3 to 5 days after the start of therapy, peaks at 7 to 10 days, and slowly subsides over the next week. Mucositis due to radiation usually appears toward the end of the second week of treatment, plateaus during the fourth week of radiation, and may persist for 2 to 3 weeks after treatment is over."
Last night Kate & Nathan went to the Crows V's Swans match at the SCG, compliments of Simon Goodwin and the Adelaide Football Club. Nathan is now a born again Crows supporter so I'm taking his Swans scarf back. Crows won 77 to Swans 53. I left my Swans scarf in the car and with a window left open in the car park, guess what happened? ........................................... I now have 3 Swans scarves!!!!! We were accompanied by Fred Veerhuis, author of Kate's favourite book, "Shit Happens" and known to many people from the St Johns and Concordia community.