Stem the Tide: Bridget’s HSCT Blog

Hi again, God bless the people who came before me and suggested a room with windows. We have a view of an active volcano that we can see from our windows and our rooftop patio. We’ve had a couple meals up there. We were also able to catch an amazing storm and lighting show last night, reminding us of our time in Texas.  How am I doing?  I am ok. I’m now going through a week of Filgrastim injections. This will enable my body to up my white blood cell count before Stem Cell harvest next weekend.  How’s Jeff doing?  Well, after he yelled louder than I’ve possibly ever heard him in my life “Oh my god HE CAUGHT IT!” Yesterday after the Jayden Daniels Hail Mary (iykyk) they didn’t kick us out, thankfully.  These walls are thin. I had to text our neighbors that we are okay - this is just American football. Then this morning during my nurse visit I had to explain my black eye. Somehow I got my phone mixed up in my sheets and it landed smack on my eye last night. I blame...

We are settled in here at the COR building. After 3 days of tests….tests that covered any and everything you could imagine, we just met with the hematologist and I am cleared for treatment.  I have to admit I was worried something would be amiss and we would be sent home. Thankfully, we are good to go. We were able to have one field trip with my group. We went to the pyramid of Cholula here in Puebla. I surprised myself by making it all the way to the top. This would never happen without my cane, my Cionic neural sleeve, and the patience and hand of my better half. As far as the group here, I seem to be in the middle both mobility-wise and age.  Out of the 19 of us there are about 4 wheelchairs, a couple who have relatively small (or not noticeable) mobility issues. The rest of us have some sort of mobility aid. Some have had diagnosis for 5-10 years, and some relatively recently. One young man from UK was diagnosed in August and he’s already here!  That brings me to the ...

  Hi everyone, We made it to the clinic where Jeff and I will stay for 4 weeks.  We have an apartment and most of the treatments are done here so we won’t leave much.  The food is good, the staff is amazing so far.  Today was a full day of tests and doctors. More of this the next couple days. All to make sure I’m physically okay for HSCT.  There are 19 of us here as a cohort getting this done together. Five are from the USA. Tons of different languages but most speak English.  That’s it for today. I’ll post more photos and videos of this process for anyone who is curious.  We are in good hands. Xoxo Bridget 

Hi friends. If you are interested in following my time in Puebla, Mexico I will provide updates here along the way.  For those who don’t already know I have MS, specifically Primary Progressive MS.  What does that mean?  Well, they picked a great name for it. It has primarily progressed, and at a crazy fast pace. I have spent most of my time this year trying anything that might help -  any and every medical option (both holistic and western), many doctors and therapists, every device, pill, diet, vitamin, supplement.... I've tried a lot of things.  Some things have helped combat symptoms like fatigue, spasticity, foot drop, bladder problems, weakness, sleep, numbness, pain, brain fog, and the long list of things that come with this disease. Unfortunately, my mobility continues to decline.  Things like going for a walk are now too difficult.  What used to be normal every day tasks are now quite challenging.  Everything is either negotiated or avoid...