Photopheresis Treatment 2 and 3

Sunday, August 24, 2008: I left for Birmingham for my 2ND photopheresis treatment that will be in the morning at 9:00am. Before I could get out of Atlanta, I found out all lanes on I-20 West bound (i.e.) to Birmingham are blocked. STRESSFUL... how do you get to Birmingham if all lanes are blocked???? Well.. I ended up going through back roads and finally ended up on I-20 close to the AL line. Thank goodness for TEL-NAV.


Monday, August 25, 2008: I arrived in the ICU for my treatment to find all of the patients out in the hall. I asked why they were out in the hall to find out there were very severe tornado warnings. Well... that was good to know since I had just driven from my apartment to the hospital. I guess I could have gotten blown away by the tornado.



This is Shu T. Huang, M.D. Pathologist. Everyone tells me he is the smartest man IN THE WORLD. and he is the mastermind behind photopheresis. He is also the one that saved my port 3 weeks ago.




This is Dr. Bai. He is a resident. He is the lucky man who puts the "drill bit" size needle in my chest for photophersis. I have to say.. he is pretty good.










On to the photopheresis treatment.... all went well. My port worked like a charm. My "photo" tech today was Mike. Since he has to sit and watch me for 4 hours we had a nice chat about cycling and tennis. I found out he likes to dance at Oktoberfest and wear the outfit too!


This is the photopheresis machine. See the bag in the front of the machine that is red. Well, that has my Red blood cells in it without the white blood cells. Isn't that cool. Did you know red blood cells are really red!





This bag has my white blood cells in it. It has a tint of red only because a few red blood cells got in the bag. After all the white blood cells are collected which takes about 4 hours, Mike puts UVADEX (a drug)( methozypsoralen) in the bag with the white blood cells. Then the white blood cells are hit with UV radiation during "photo activation".




When this step is complete, your radiated cells are transfused back into your body and you are ready to go.



Here Mike is flushing my port and getting to remove the drill bit and then we start all over tomorrow.

I knew I had to be careful with ultraviolet light so I asked if I could go to a movie. Mike suggested I go buy some clear glasses that are 99.9% UV. I went to see the movie " The Bunny House". Even though it is rated PG 13... I don't recommend letting your teenager watch it.



When I arrived at the apartment Carol was there with two of her friends. We had such a wonderful time just talking and chatting. Of course, they called me "Hollywood" because I had to wear my sunglasses at all times.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008:

Back to the hospital at 9:00am. My photo tech today was Andrea. No problems. Everything went absolutely smooth. Andrea had a nice 4 hours chat about teenagers! We also decided to change my name to SUZI. So... what do you think. I think I sound younger!!!



A friend of mine, Clay, is up here on the unit. I can't see him because they had to put him back on the ventilator. However, his Mom and Dad come down to visit with me while I am getting my 4 hour treatment. Clay was transplanted on May 25, 2008. Almost 8 years to the day since I was transplanted. He caught a really bad "bug" and had to be put back on the ventilator. If you will remember, the same thing happened to me as well. They ended up having to "trach" Clay because it is taking too long to get him off of the ventilator. I am confident he is just having a bump in the road to his successful recovery but please lift him up in your prayers. Clay is only 25 years old and has a whole lifetime ahead of him.

Yes, I did drive to Bham by myself. The toughest part was the drive home. I was a little tired from the treatment but thunderstorms and traffic did not help much at all. But all in all, it was a good treatment. I have gained all of my weight back and my color is good. While I have not had an official pulmonary function test, I can tell I am improving on a daily basis.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008:

Keith and I celebrate our 20Th Wedding Anniversary.

Next treatment: September 15 and 16Th.