Vaccine Day #1 - Apheresis

Bobby & I went to NIH today for his first vaccine. Before they start, they perform a procedure called apheresis. It pulls the blood through the machine and separates out the cells. The nurse (Jessica) adjusts the settings of the machine to where it is slurping out MOSTLY white blood cells. She said the white blood cells lay close to the platelets so it sucks out a few platelets along the way. They take out about 250ml of WBC's and some plasma & those pesky platelets. They wanted his entire blood volume to run through the machine 3 times. According to his weight & height, it would take the machine 4 hours to process his 5,000cc blood volume 3 times (15,000). The machine counted it all up.


Bobby did so well. He never complained once. He deserves a medal! He had a needle positioned in his left arm. He couldn't move that arm for 4 hours. He also had a regular IV in his right arm. He could move that but not much. Then, once she got everything hooked up, he was able to sleep for the rest of the procedure. The nurse was very nice and let me sit right by his side. They normally don't let family stay for it but I was very quiet and asked if I could sit in the corner. Thank you Jessica! After he was finished, I got him a TRIPLE MOCHA--A large mocha with an extra shot of espresso! (~He couldn't have caffeine b4 the procedure~)
The apheresis machine is on the right (duhhh). The last bag on the right ended up being about 1/2 full of pinkish liquid. She said there are no RBCs in it but the pigment from them comes along over with the other cells. She had a chart that told her what color the fluid should be and she had to adjust the machine to keep it there. It was an amazing process. The "leftover" blood (RBC's) went back into his body on his right side and his blood went back into him.

WHY CAN'T THEY DO THIS FOR ME...AND JUST KEEP THE FAT CELLS???

I could reduce my body fat in a few hours......or days?....maybe a few visits. And,

my dream...to suck them out of one spot and put them into another!

Voila!

We toured Haverfield Aviation

Our friend Darryl Ed took us on a tour of his location in Gettysburg. Here are a few of the over 400 pictures Dan took....

http://picasaweb.google.com/Harsh.BobbyDonna/Haverfield

Heroes Weekend

Dan, Bobby, and Donna went to Gettysburg for the weekend. Julie went to the barn to spend the weekend with her horse. Lindsey is having parties at the house...feel free to stop by and say hi to her friend Jess and her boyfriend, Will.

Here are some campground pictures...

Donna's idea of camping

Dan and Ryan playing in the fire

The Sun can be deceptive!

Bobby went outside yesterday and did some yard work. He cut down a tree, rode the 3-wheeler, and raked the yard...

After Bobby was outside for only about an hour, Dan realized that Daddy was outside without sunscreen. Dan got the UV meter out (I bought him to check the intensity of the rays). It was over 6! Dan lathered Daddy up with sunblock. Bobby rubbed it into his head/scalp, his face, and neck. Unfortunately, it was not enough and was too late. Bobby got burned. He has such sensitive skin. I posted safety rules on the blog...and will print them and post them around our house. I was sick that he got burned. It can't happen...ever.

Please remember to wear sunscreen. I would also ask that everyone help Bobby remember to apply his sunblock. He has it in his truck, in his police car, at home...and will have a bottle at work. I should make him (and will) a button that says, "Ask me if I'm wearing sunblock."
PLEASE DO!!! IT MAY SAVE HIS LIFE.

Love to all, Hugs...

(UPDATED) Yeah!!! More good news!

NIH called at the end of the week. Bobby will be starting the clinical trial the week after next. We feel very fortunate that all of the pieces fit perfectly. HE'S IN!!! I'm so happy for him...and the rest of the family feels a huge sense of relief that this is all working out so well. We know who to thank for all of this.

Wow, I fixed the typing mistakes. Sorry!

OK, so..things are set for Bobby's next visit to NIH. Next week will be his first visit to start the clinical trial. He goes to NIH for the apheresis. They will start 2 IVs and he is hooked up to a machine. The machine takes his blood and separates it. NIH will save some of his white blood cells for the trial. They will do this again a few more times. It takes 2.5-4 hours. From what we've read, it is not going to be an easy procedure. You can't get up. The IV catheters are large and can be uncomfortable. They put pressure dressings on after they remove them. It can cause bruising. Bobby isn't looking forward to this visit...but it is the beginning of the trial which is exciting. After we get through this day, it will be much easier. He is a little stressed out about this visit...He'd appreciate any support. After this visit, he will go down every 3 weeks for a vaccine. Those visits are quick and short.

Other news...we took Julie and Dan to the dermatologist. He was most concerned about Julie and told her NO SUNBURNS--EVER! Her fair skin and Blonde hair. She has several spots that we will watch. Dan has a birthmark that we've been concerned about but the doctor wasn't (whew). Lindsey needs an appointment and we'll be set.

Bobby is starting back to work full duty this week. He flies on Wednesday. Our schedules will be crazy for the next two months. We've been working around my schedule since he has been on 8 hour days. My schedule is crazy this month. I'm working all over the place. We'll see if it is easier to just stay on night shifts instead of switching all around. I am tired all of the time though. What's new.

Julie just got back from Canada. Her trip was great. She had a wonderful time. I'll do another post with pictures of that trip. Lindsey is planning her trip to Germany. She is making plans to see our good friends, the Hedke's, who live in Germany. Lindsey will be there for 2 months this summer. This will be her 2nd trip there. She is very excited. She knows where she is going and has done it before...so there is alot less stress. Too bad she doesn't get a 2nd time around discount.

That's all that is going on here...I'll keep things up to date when there is anything going on.
Thanks for visiting!