Deepika's Diary
29 APRIL 2000
Day 2
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Finally a peaceful night, I managed to get a few hours of sleep.
The morning was slow and I was still finding it difficult to keep food down. I asked my doctor for a few hours of leave so that I could spent this wonderful sunny and warm day at home. I was feeling fine so he let me go home for a few hours.
It was nice to be home after a week in hospital. I didn't do much though. Tried to eat a little and took a nap while watching a movie for most of the afternoon.
After a pleasant and relaxing day at home, it was time to return to the hospital.
My dad told me that there is some confusion with regards to my transplant. Here is little more about it. A bone marrow transplant does not require any form of SURGERY at all. Bone marrow is the spongy like layer in our bones where blood cells are produced. In my case, the white blood cells became cancerous or underdeveloped and could not carry out their normal functions. The stem cells which I wrote about before are the cells from which all the cells are produced. These are the cells that needed to be transplanted. So it is not the marrow but the stem cells in the marrow that are important.
Bone marrow transplant and peripheral stem cell transplant is one and the same thing. The different terminology is used because of the way the stem cells are collected from the donor.
Until a few years ago stem cells could only be taken directly out of the bone marrow. With today's drugs & technology these stem cells can be taken out of the blood.
I hope this helps, if not please e-mail Chirag and he will try and answer any questions.