Day 13 Post BMT

I'm blogging super early today (it's only 3:49 am). My mouth sores are slowly going away and my throat doesn't hurt as much either. God has been so good to me. It's amazing how my life has transformed. I still remember the day Raul and I went to the hospital to confirm my pregnancy. The doctor asked what we wanted to do with the baby. Raul and I were in disbelief. We weren't expecting that type of question. I was maybe one month pregnant and this was before the diagnoses. I couldn't believe that the doctor was already giving us an option to terminate the pregnancy. "Of course we are keeping the baby," we told her.

The first trimester was horrible. I was vomiting almost everyday. Food smelled weird and didn't taste the same. I stopped eating red meat, I hated the taste and smell of it. My senses have heightened. I was so sensitive about everything. I even locked myself up in the room while Raul cooked his dinner. Otherwise, I would throw up because of the smell. I survived by eating crackers and oatmeal. My poor baby had to have something. Most of the time, I forced myself to eat and drink fluids, but ended up vomiting. The worst part was that I worked night shift, 6:30 pm until 7:00 am. For the next ten weeks, I dragged myself to go to work. On my days off, Raul drove me to the Urgent Care to get treated for hydration. Basically, the nurse would start an IV line and infused my vein with Normal Saline. It took about 45 minutes to an hour for each bag (one bag has 1 liter) and most of the time the doctor ordered 2 liters.

One Saturday afternoon, I asked Raul to take me to the Urgent Care again. "There's definitely something wrong with me," I told him. And that day became the most crucial day of my life. The doctor ran a blood test and based on the result, I needed blood and platelet transfusion. I was transferred to the ED right away. To make a long story short, Raul, Paul, Va, Julia and Gloria came to see me in the ED. Two units of blood had been transfused and then the nurse started the platelet. Ten minutes into the platelet transfusion, my body felt itchy all of a sudden. I asked Raul to help me scratch my back, then my legs and next thing I know, I got hives all over my body. I was having an adverse reaction from the platelet. The nurse panicked and pushed 25 mg of Benadryl through an IV line on my left wrist (for some reason, I had another line on my right am). The nurse pushed the Benadryl too fast that the left side of my body started burning. From the top of my head to the tip of my toes, it just burned! I was begging for a doctor and screaming for help. My eyes were closed halfway and everything was slowly turning into a white blur. "Help me, please. The left side of my body is burning." Then I heard the doctor's voice, "You have to tell me what happened so I can help you." This doctor must have thought I was joking around. I repeated myself, "the nurse gave me Benadryl and now the left side of my body is burning." It wasn't a good line to begin with, they should have used the line I had on my right arm instead. Finally, the nurse shot an epi-pen on my left thigh and in a couple of seconds, the burning sensation was gone and so was I. The epi-pen knocked me out. I didn't remember anything after that shot. When I woke up, I was already admitted in the Med Surge Department on the third floor.

The following day, I was transferred to the ICU and the Oncologist performed a bone marrow biopsy. Aplastic Anemia was the first diagnoses. A week later, I was also diagnosed with PNH.

For the next couple of weeks, Raul and I cried ourselves to sleep. My mom and older sister stayed with us in our two-bedroom apartment for a little over a month. We had our devotion and prayed every single day. God is good, He answers all our prayers. Sometimes He says "yes" sometimes He says "no" and sometimes He says "later." God has a plan for my family and me. During these tough times, I learned how to be patient. I don't know when I'm going to be healed, but I know that I will be healed in His perfect time.

I want to share this bible verse with you today:
So do not fear, for I am with you;
 do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
 I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
- Isaiah 41:10