Saturday was a day of rest and I gave myself the 6 shots. On Sunday, we went back to the hospital for a blood specimen. We waited for the results because Dr. Anderlini wanted to have the results read and evaluated to see how I was tolerating the stepped-up medication. The only problem was my magnesium was low and I was given a couple of tablets. Back to the apartment for the day and continue the shots. We will start again on Monday for the collection.

One thing to always be aware of is to control your pain. I had been told this about 20 years ago after surgery and Joe, who has done the collection for the last two days, told me again on Friday. The reason is that when you are in pain, your body is concentrating on that pain and not on the matter at hand. The stem cell collection or any other procedure will be more effective if your body can concentrate on that and not on making the pain go away.