After melphalan cleared the garden, the rebuilding could begin.

Two days ago, melphalan cleared the garden.
Today, my own stem cells came home.

It’s taken me a few days to write this. After two days of stem cell infusions, I needed the rest.

Now that I have a little more energy, I want to share what Day 0 was like.

Day 0 at Fred Hutch started quietly. The morning began with about two hours of hydration and pre-medications to help my body tolerate the transplant.

Then the stem cells arrived.

When they brought them into my room, I was surprised by how small they were. Each bag was tiny — red, frozen, and completely flat. It’s strange to think that something so small could hold millions of cells that will rebuild my bone marrow.

A technician thawed the bag in a warm water bath right there in my room. Within a few minutes, the frozen cells were ready to be infused back into my body.

Those stem cells had been collected from me just a few weeks ago. Now they were coming back, traveling through my IV line so they could eventually find their way back to my bone marrow and begin the slow work of rebuilding my immune system and blood production.

There is a preservative mixed with the stem cells called DMSO. It protects the cells while they are frozen so they survive the thawing process. Without it, the cells would be damaged.

The downside is that DMSO can cause reactions when it enters the body, and I definitely felt it.

Shortly after the infusion started, I began having intense abdominal pain and dizziness. My care team slowed the infusion down so my body could tolerate it better. Because there is a limit to how much DMSO a person can safely receive in a day, my transplant had to be done over two days instead of one.

Another strange thing about DMSO is that many people say it creates a strong smell — most often described as creamed corn.

I personally couldn’t smell it.

But my cousin, who is here as my caregiver, definitely could.

By the time everything was finished, I was extremely tired.

Two days ago, melphalan cleared the garden.

Now the stem cells are beginning the slow work of growing it back.

With a stem cell transplant, the body has to go all the way down before it can rebuild.
Sometimes you have to get to the bottom before you can start the climb back up.