We survived Campath!

I normally don't blog this late at night but Will is actually asleep (something that hasn't happened much since he's been in the hospital) and I have a few minutes to myself! I wanted to document these pictures/ days before I start forgetting things so a late night blog post it is!

Will started Campath Friday, June 7. Campath targets lymphocytes and on Friday Will's lymphocyte level was pretty high. The higher the lymphocyte count, the harder the infusion is on an individual. Will started his infusion around 10am and within 20 minutes he was throwing up and miserable. I was shocked that he started having a reaction so fast and knew we were in for a long day. We ended up slowing the infusion down and spread his dose over 6 hours. He got sick several times during the infusion and also ran a temp. However, by the end of the infusion he was feeling much better and even had enough energy to play for a bit!

I thought we were out of the woods since Will was playing post infusion but I was SO wrong. Friday night, around 8pm, Will spiked a temperature and started throwing up again. His fever and heart rate were both climbing (fever peaked at 105.6 and heart rate got over 230) and it was absolutely terrifying. Meds were given, cold cloths were placed on his head, a cooling blanket was used, and cold fluids were also given via his central lines. It took several hours but we were finally able to manage his fever. It was the scariest night we've ever had with Will.

Thankfully the remaining three Campath infusions were much easier. Will did spike a fever Saturday night but it peaked at 102.5 and came down pretty quickly. His infusions Sunday and Monday went well with minimal side effects!!

I can't believe we are about 15 hours away from Will receiving his new cells! As of 10pm CST on June 11 (so right now as I am writing this post), Will's cells were in Houston being processed! His donor is International so the cells have had a long journey to make it to Texas!

Alex and I are asking all of our family and friends to wear green tomorrow and to spread the word not only about Will's journey, but about bone marrow transplant and donation! We have been blessed twice with two selfless donors to save our kids. However, there are so many individuals who are not as fortunate and never find their match. The more people talk about becoming bone marrow donors, the larger the registry becomes, and the more lives saved!

So #teamwill let's work together and spread the word!! Get swabbed; save a life!