Hi @caregiverx2. I know the stress level is high right now for both you and your husband. There are so many unknowns and everything is coming at you so quickly. I’m so sorry that the arrangements you made for help back home has fallen through! That’s really troubling for you. Are there any local church organizations, neighbors or volunteer services such as Kiwanis or such who would be able to organize a ‘help chain’ to rotate people to help out? I hope you find someone soon so that you can at least feel at peace for your home situation.

I’m also wondering about the Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) which allows up to 12 weeks to care for an immediate family member (i.e., spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition. That might help with your job situation! Here’s the website:
https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/benefits-leave/fmla
I can’t help with that, but I can help answer questions about the transplant. There is a chemo regimen before the transplant called Precondition. This protocol cleanses the bone marrow to allow for the new stem cells to set up housekeeping in a clean, healthy environment.

The day before chemo starts, your husband will most likely have a port surgically implanted. All of the infusions, many of the meds and blood draws will be through that port. It makes life a whole lot easier throughout the 100 days.

Basically for the infusion itself, the bag looks just like a blood transfusion bag. It’s connected to the port and infused into the blood stream.
There will be two nurses in the room. Your husband will not be alone! One nurse will give your husband a pretreatment of medication such as Tylenol and Benadryl or Solumedrol in case there are any reactions and check his vitals. The second nurse will be present to verify, with the first nurse, that the name/birth date on the bag of stem cells matches the information for your husband. They will be with him throughout the infusion. In my case, we just sat and talked for the half hour.

They’re not anticipating anything dire to happen. Any reaction they will be watching for are similar to any reaction that could happen with medications such as:
Full body flushing/facial flushing, itching, hives
Trouble breathing, shortness of breath, coughing, chest pain/tightness
Abdominal cramps, nausea/vomiting
Light headedness
The meds they give him beforehand help prevent any unexpected reactions.

After that, depending on the time of day he has the infusion, he may be able to return to your lodging that day or the next. He’ll return to the clinic daily for blood draws and any meds and infusions such magnesium.

I hope that gives you a little more reassurance about what to expect on Day 0. If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. I’m here for you as well as members like @katgob, @alive @edb1123 @kt2013 @jenmkr63 @jrwilli1 @tkidd51 and many others.
Are you at Mayo-Jacksonville? If I remember correctly, @tkidd51 had their transplant in Jacksonville. They may be able to offer you some first hand information about what to anticipate while there. ☺️

My husband was with me while I was getting my transplant. It was uneventful. I don’t think your husband’s doctors are anticipating any problems, but each transplant center has its own procedures. I wouldn’t be concerned about that. The transplant is a slow drip, since they use gravity for the transfusion and not the pump.

Talk to the social worker on the transplant floor - mine was excellent about supporting me and my husband.

My faith in our Mayo team slipped a little bit more. I think they are having a change of staff and our main ARPN is going out on maternity leave. The last time we saw her, she mentioned that she would have various appointments scheduled before my husband's admittance for his SCT. She specifically mentioned us meeting with the doctor prior to being admitted to the hospital. A lot of appointments were scheduled but never an appointment with the doctor. I waited. The team has been on top of things since March and I have never had to worrying or double check behind them. So, I waited for more appointments to be scheduled. The schedule never changed. So, yesterday, I called to inquire if we had to meet with the doctor. Oh, they said, there are pending orders in here for appointments and bloodwork but it wasn't sent to scheduling. I am losing my faith in our team and this is not a good time for that to happen. This transition from chemo consolidation to SCT does not seem organized from my window. I hope beyond my small view inside the workings of the SCT everything is organized and working like clock work.