Day +1
Today is Day +1 for Riko. It is exactly 4 months since we learned of his cancer diagnosis. As shocking as it was to all of us, we knew that with the love and support of all of you, that we could help him through this journey. Yesterday was a big milestone for him, Day 0. What this means is that it was transplant day as he shared some details in his last post. I thought I would go into a little more depth as many of you are asking how he is doing, what did they actually do, how long did it take and how is he feeling today?
First of all, in case you don’t have time to read further, he is doing good. He received a Stem Cell Transplant using his youngest sister's stem cells. I remember when we shared with her that he had cancer, the first thing she asked is how can she get tested so she can help. In fact, both of his sisters wanted to be a match as did several of his Chef friends. It just happens that Jasmine is twelve years younger than him and was a perfect 10/10 match, so quickly while still vetting other potential donors in the database, the OHSU Transplant Team began assisting her with the steps necessary to go through testing in order to be sure that it was safe for her to be able to donate her stem cells and for her brother to receive them. Because this transplant needed to happen sooner, rather than later due on the type MDS that Riko was diagnosed, once testing was complete on both of them, she was given the green light to begin the process. While back in her home state, she began receiving injections to help her produce more stem cells so that she would have enough stem cells when she went to San Diego to have them harvested. The donation was successful and her stem cells were delivered to OHSU in Oregon and were cryogenically frozen to be used on Day 0, Transplant Day. The stem cells were kept frozen up until 1 hour prior to transplant. There is a chemical that is used as a preservative in the freezing process, it is called DMSO and is known to some times cause an allergic reaction and also know to give off a smell or “scent” of creamed corn after transplant. Outweighing the risks vs. benefits, the benefits were superior to the risks.
Next, transplant begins: During the first push phase of transplant, Riko did experience a “wave of heat” in his face and head, so they slowly administered the cells and began to administer additional meds to prevent or mitigate the allergic reaction that we were informed about. This did help a bit, but then the heat moved to his chest and his throat began to get scratchy, almost asthmatic and his nose seemed to be very stuffy, almost runny & stuffy at the same time. They slowed the push of the stem cells and administered an additional IV antihistamine. This began to kick-in and they began to push the cells into his picc line at a slower rate. He was not able to have a central line placed as he is at high-risk of bleeding and they didn’t want to cause any serious complications. The push was a long process for his nurse Jen, but she was amazing and patient and very aware of his reactions. We met Jen back in June when he was first being treated at OHSU for his first couple rounds of chemo. The staff here has been amazing and we know that he is getting the best care for his condition and that they have performed thousands of stem cell transplants with their amazing team of doctors, researchers, educators, the list goes on.
As Riko navigates through these next 100 days, that are the most crucial to his recovery and healing, let’s help get him through day +100 and beyond and get him through this journey with all of the love and support that you continue to provide. Mahalo to all of you for following his journey and for walking with him along this path. He appreciates all of your love and support and is looking forward to the day he will see you all in person. For now he has been journaling his experiences throughout this process and will continue to do so as he mentioned.
As I type this update, he has been resting and is trying to avoid some nausea, but is looking good and will be ready for tomorrow’s post.
