The Wait Is Over….It’s STEM CELL DAY

Friday October 27th: Stemmzellen Tag (stem cell day)!

Phil and I were fortunate enough to be getting our stems at the same time and we were both excited and nervous as it got closer and closer to this very special day – oh, and dreading the 3.5 hour drive!

I did not really sleep the night before. I was in pain, still a little itchy, and restless. Mom decided to come with me this time while Tyler stayed home and slept in. I had said bye to my friend Philip a few minutes before as he was going back to Hamburg to meet up with some friends.

I fell asleep for about 30 mins in the car.

We arrived at Dr. Pesic’s office around 11am and went straight in for our injections. Both Phil and I were pleased with how well our stemies did during the time they were under Dr. Pesic’s care.

According to Dr. Pesic, on average, people tend to have anywhere between 200,000-400,000 stem cells when their blood is harvested. I had 480,000 when my blood was initially harvested….whohoo!! Usually these stems multiply from anywhere between 5-10x. Thankfully my stems multiplied 11x giving me a grand total of 5,460,000 stem cells!

Phil had a little more than me, but we both reminded ourselves how important it is to not focus too much on the numbers and instead focus on the fact that these stem cells are our own personal soldiers. What is so great about getting your own stem cells is that they know your body best. They know where to go and how you function.

Another great benefit of the blood stem cells is that they can pass through the blood brain barrier a lot easier than other methods, which is a huge plus.

The injection is actually quite small. I could not believe that over 5 million stem cells were in such a small amount of liquid (around 4ml of liquid). The solution is put directly under the skin in our left arm just below our shoulder and leaves a small raised area. This allows the stems to gradually be absorbed through the blood and lymphatic system where they will then be spread throughout the rest of our body. Dr. Pesic does warn you that it burns a little, but it’s nothing I couldn’t handle at this point in the treatment!

This visit was much quicker. We had a little bit of tea, took a few pictures, Phil and I high-fived a few times, and then we were on our way!

Elke got us back in no time!

The rest of the day we relaxed and had some really delicious leftovers from the meals mom had made.

Today also marked the end of the yucky green monster drink!

We were advised to take it easy this weekend after getting our stems, so I have done just that.

Unfortunately, I did not get the surge of energy some others said they got after getting my stems. I have actually been pretty slow moving with waves of not feeling very well and my sleep has been utter crap. But I am not blaming this on my stems. They know what they are doing and this part of the treatment is all about patience and listening to your body.

Week 2 is complete and Phil and I are locked and loaded with all of our special stem cell soldiers.

This week is our last week in Germany. Treatment during this time will mainly be focused on continuing to support our bodies and our stems to prepare us for departure and the next 100 days to come!

I will continue to share with you as much as I can and I hope this has helped some of you!

Please remember if you have any questions, send them my way and if I don’t know the answer I will find out for you!!

I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week!

Thinking Healthy Thoughts,
Abby