On the road to transplant.

Somewhere within this country, a very generous woman is getting ready to start a series of injections this week that will prepare her body to donate millions of stem cells.  These cells will then be put on a plane, flown to Seattle, and transfused to me on Thursday, June 16th.  I don't know much about her yet--only that she lives in the U.S. and has a blood type of A+, which will become my new blood type after transplant (I'm currently O+).  I also know that she is beyond benevolent to give her time and energy (and blood) to help me extend my life.  It's hard to put into words how grateful I am that she, along with the many other stem cell/bone marrow donors, are so willing to help those of us who desperately need it.

I've spent the past two weeks going through my extensive pre-transplant work-up.  I've had just about every x-ray, scan, MRI and blood test possible.  They've tested all of my systems:  heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, bones, teeth--you name it, they've looked at it.  Plus, meetings with nutritionists, nurses, pharmacists and doctors.  I have to say, they are extremely thorough.  Fortunately, everything has checked out well and there are no concerns.

This week holds more of the same.  We have my final data review with my transplant doctor on Monday to go over the aforementioned tests; I have surgery on Tuesday to remove my chemo port and "install" my Hickman central line that will be a part of me for the next 3.5 months.  I'm not at all looking forward to having a line again--it's not terribly comfortable, and makes taking a shower a huge annoyance.  The rest of the week will be spent learning about my conditioning chemo and radiation that will begin next weekend.  Next Sunday, they'll start my three days of chemo, Wednesday will be a "rest" day, and then on Thursday (the 16th) I'll get a dose of full-body radiation, followed by the transplant later that day.

We will be moving into our Seattle apartment next Saturday.  We're on the waiting list at the Pete Gross building, which is where we lived last September/October.  We're hoping an apartment becomes available soon, but in the meantime, we'll be staying at the SCCA House.  Their apartments are much smaller and not as self-contained as Pete Gross, but it will serve it's purpose until we can  move to a more long-term apartment.  Both complexes are designed for SCCA patients, and are a very short distance from SCCA, which is where I'll be spending a lot of my time.

Surprisingly, the transplant is considered an out-patient procedure.  Half of their transplant patients get through the process without any hospital time, which is encouraging.  Last time, I ended up in the hospital immediately following my conditioning treatment (before the transplant actually happened) because the chemo made me so violently ill.  This time, my conditioning chemo is much more gentle and shouldn't cause me problems.  Hopefully I'll be able to get through the first couple of weeks out-patient.  Once the donor cells start doing their job, they may start to cause some problems for me.  If I spike a fever, or have any severe graft vs. host (GVHD) issues, they'll admit me to UW Medical Center.  This process will be a lot different than last time, and there's just no way of knowing what issues may arise over the next few months.  They do a great job of educating us and informing us of the possible outcomes, but we'll just have to see what we're dealing with.

On the home front, things are going great.  My parents are here for the duration, the kids are busy with end-of-the-year school activities, and they're making their summer plans.  I know it'll be tough when Philip and I leave next weekend, but I also know they'll do great.  We're looking forward to many visits in Seattle as I start to feel better post-transplant, and we'll all just try to take one day at a time.  I'm grateful that I've been able to be here these past couple of weeks to enjoy school BBQs, carnivals, field trips, open houses and all of the other fun stuff that has been happening.  It's a fun time of the year, and we're lucky to be able to enjoy it together.