Today was James' final shot at 7am. Then he had time for a quick breakfast and needed to be back at the Puget Sound Blood Center by 8:10am. AJ and I went with him to be sure they got him all set up and running before we left. Here's James' thoughts from today:
Aloha well today was the day. The procedure went well. It took about 4 1/2 hours. No pain at all. I had to use the restroom and I think that was the worse part about the whole thing. The nurses said my white cells look good. Oh ya the nurse I had was from Hawaii. Small world! Haha. I did all I can do. The rest is in God's hands. Once again I want to thank God for blessing me with the gift of helping someone. I will not lie, this whole experience made me think of Shawn Hegarty. Like I said before its sad that it takes something bad in life for something good to come out of it. RIP, I miss you, Shawn!
Eager to go through a little discomfort in order to save a woman's life.
Getting all hooked up.
This is the machine that filters the stem cells out of James' blood. It makes a ticking sound, but he says he didn't hear it with the speaker for the television next to his ear.
You see four lines here. Let's start with the three grouped together: The red line is his outgoing blood, the one with the green line is the anti-coagulant, and the clear line is the saline. The fourth line, the one by itself, is the blood returning into James' body, which goes in the other arm (see below).
The lines are all clear here because it is before the process began, but it's basically what his arm looked like being all hooked up!
Thank you to the Puget Sound Blood Center team for taking care of James and most importantly for getting the needed amount of stem cells to save a woman's life!
After speaking to the nurses and doctors, we learned that this recipient had gone through chemotherapy, but it wasn't working. So, all her stem cells were damaged or dying; therefore, she needed a transplant. Just as James was going through this process of shots every day, the recipient was undergoing even more chemotherapy in order to kill all her cells. We cannot even imagine what this woman has been going through these last few days, weeks, and months. All we can do is hope and pray that God has used this process to bless this woman.
We continue to pray for her that her body accepts these stem cells and provides her with another chance to live her life. In Jesus name, heal her and give her more time with her family and time to seek You further. We do not know what's in her heart, but You do, Lord! May she spend many more days with her family and friends.
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