Road to Bart 2.0

Yesterday the chemo treatment was over. One big hurdle taken onto the next one.

One small bag with a red content was brought in at 1:30. One small step for the nurse, one big step for Bart. Stem Cell Donation Time. The drip only took 30 minutes to empty but meant a life time for Bart.

The second door to his room is now closed. Because the chemo killed most of his white blood cells, he doesn’t have any immunity left. They keep the doors closed and his room pressurized to keep all the germs out.

As we can’t go in anymore, I will refer to ourselves as germs from now on.

I am still debating if it is an upgrade from Alien or Smurf. Jury is still out.

I have urged him to watch as much German television so those stem cells will feel at home and start doing their job. It must help as he send me a Guten Morgen in stead of Good Morning when he woke up.

He still feels very tired. Very normal in his situation.

After not being able to eat for 36 hours he finally had a small breakfast this morning followed by a second breakfast which was less enjoyable (he is still in hobbit mode).

Big decisions had to be taken yesterday.

Firstly, it was decided that Bart will have a second Birthday. The day Bart start making new stem cells. Doctors have said it takes 10 days. So March 4th is his new Birthday. We will have to have big mega parties from next year on, as he will share his second birthday with Louise.

Secondly, he kind of promised the kids to get a matching tattoo when he was cured. Louise has some great ideas but final decision has to be made with the whole family. As we can only visit with 2 people at the time, now behind closed doors, we will have to postpone till he gets home. We will show you a picture of the drawing once chosen. (FYI, the doctor thought it was an awful idea to get a tattoo in his condition, even when healed. So Bart is having serious doubts if he can keep the promise.) To be continued….

As you can read we are doing everything possible to make him laugh and get his spirits up. But he did admit to me this morning that he was bored and wanted to come home (not good idea right now). So please keep sending him short videos, he loves them. Big Thank you to those who already did.

written by Cat

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be in the twilight zone?

I think we now know what it feels like. Bart and I only get to see each other once a day for maximum 1 hour, no touching, not even a kiss. When we visit him, he doesn’t see us, he sees aliens, Smurfs.

We have to wear a protective apron, a FFP2 mask (hello Corona), plastic bags over our shoes and gloves. Not very stylish and very warm but just a small sacrifice we are willing to make as long as we get to see him, talk to him, laugh with him and yes, the occasional tear is shed.

I had bought a new lipstick, just to be sure I was looking my best for Bart. He didn’t comment during the visit. But later that day, during a videocall, he mentioned I looked really pretty with the red lipstick. I was a bit baffled. Didn’t you notice it when I was at the hospital? And as soon as I said it, it dawned on me: I was wearing a face mask. And although he might now be glowing in the dark with all the chemo, he doesn’t have X-ray vision, well not yet 🙂

I remember seeing the movie/documentary Super Size Me. Fast Food restaurants are good at promoting bigger sizes. More is better, more is cheaper.

Super Size me in a hospital is a whole different story. Extremely impressive and frightening at same time. How much medicine can you stuff in a human body? Are they trying to get in the Guinness book of records? How long will he be glowing in the dark?

From this set up on day 1 to ….

And the third hook on the left size has 2 bags. Three of those bags are chemo and I suspect one, or more, of them contains maybe a bit of alcohol because he is still cracking silly jokes. I will go into full investigation mode when I visit him tonight. Interrogate the nurses, cross-examine the doctors and grill the kitchen.

It won’t be a big surprise to you if I say that today the sturdy main course left quite an impact on Bart. Appetite is gone, nausea kicked in and he aches all over his body. But as mentioned above, still in good spirits, maybe literally 🙂

Tonight we say goodbye to Bart 1.0 as the doctor has announced that tomorrow is D-day (donation day). For 10 days Bart will be in no man’s land, transitioning into Bart 2.0.

During this time, the new Stem cells will magically find their way to the correct place and do their thing. With all the medical knowledge in the world, they still haven’t figured out how it is possible that each stem cell knows exactly where to go, apparently it is one of the few remaining mysteries.

To be honest I don’t care how they know. I just hope his donor has watched the Nike commercials : “Just do it”. Or followed closely Obama’s presidential campaign : “Yes, we can”.

And then in 10 days, Bart 2.0 will arise.

I feel like I am writing a bad Sci-Fi script. Well at least the small devices on the catheter stand look like Star Wars troopers and the good guys always triumph at the end of those American B-movies. And I can honestly say, Bart is one of the good guys. So cheer up, keep those fingers crossed (& toes, if you can) and send some positive vibes his way.

I would like to take the time to thank the medical staff : nurses, doctors, etc.. for paying attention in class and taking their studies seriously. It really helps that they know what they are doing.

written by Cat

Day 1 – 5

Apparently chemo is a three course meal.

I checked into my room on Friday February 17th. After going through the onboarding procedures which mainly consisted of my food preferences and my party attire (a very ugly hospital gown which is as you see in the movies, very open in the back) I got wheeled of to get a permanent catheter inserted in my arm which extends through my upper chest next to my heart . I now know exactly where my heart is. If I ever wanted to retrace my steps like in the movie Innerspace (1987), I know where to go, no need for Waze or Google maps.

Back in the room, the nurse was already waiting with the first baxter of chemo. Let the games begin.

Contrary to what I have heard, I am not extremely nauseated and haven’t lost my appetite. I even got the nurse to give me double dessert (working that charm).

The weekend was more of the same, one bag of chemo after another and still in high spirits. That is until the doctor came by.

He explained that my chemo treatment was a 3 meal course. Starting of with a light appetizer (Friday – Sunday), a sturdy main course (Monday – Tuesday) and a killer dessert (Wednesday – Thursday).

Fast forward to Tuesday.

I am still laughing, cracking jokes when the kids and the wife visit me in the hospital and Face time them several times a day, just to keep them on their toes and keep tabs on what is happening in the outside world.

My sisters in law sponsored a “Kom op tegen kanker” light for me. For which I am very grateful. It is better to have a light accompany you in your journey then to walk in the dark.

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