I finally have an answer to the most frequently asked question. No, not "Has George learned to cook?" or "Where are you spending Thanksgiving?" I can finally answer "When is your stem cell transplant?"
(Insert drum roll here.)
On Wednesday, November 7, I'll be checking in to Hotel Hope for my month-long stay.
At the moment, I'm feeling a little light headed from this unexpected good news. I'm leaving tomorrow for the Minneapolis/Chicago trip and will return on Monday night. I'll spend a good chunk of Tuesday at CoH, so that doesn't give me much time to prepare. I still have a thousand and one items on my "Things to Do Before My Transplant" list (watch for the soon-to-be-released book and movie), but I may have to pare that down to a dozen or so.
"Play dates" for walks, hikes, coffee or lunch that were penciled in my calendar will have to wait until 2008.
And, you guessed it. I'll be having my Thanksgiving dinner at Hotel Hope. I can't wait to find out what the chef has whipped up.
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8 comments:
So exciting, so happy for you. Next question: Will you let us know if/when you're allowed visitors????
ok great...put that one in ink! Have a great time in Chicago and MN. Lot's of Love and Prayers, Suze
YAY! Finally a date certain. That must feel great. :-)
I would say it's a very good idea to trust the pros on the experimental radioimmunotherapy. It makes sense that they don't want to wipe your blood levels out so thoroughly that the stem cell transplant would be further delayed, or even postponed indefinitely.
Will you be able to stay in touch once you're ensconced in your hospital bed?
I'm sure the chef will do something wonderful. And/or someone will have to sneak in something good for you.
I know this will be a crazy rush followed by a lot of hanging around, but at least now you have a plan! Don't hesitate to call on your village to help out before, during and after your stay. That inclues me.
I'll definitely be allowed to have visitors for most of my stay. I know that there will be a few days when I'm at my most vulnerable when only immediate family members can visit.
Other than that time period, I'll look forward to having lots of visitors.
I'm bringing my Scrabble board with me and will be brushing up on arcane words with the letter Q.
Gee, one of the things on my to-do list was to learn to knit and I was ready to be taught by Doreen's mom.
I bet I still remember how to knit. I also have yarn that's been waiting for 25 years to be useful. Nice big needles too, so it goes really fast. Let me know.
Hurrah!! It's about time!
But why do you have to stay a month in Hotel Hope when you have the transplant? When I thought a transplant was more than a transfusion, I understood why you'd be in the big house for so long. But now I'm confused.
During the first week six weeks of my stay in the big house, I'll be receiving high-dose, round-the-clock chemo, which will have the effect of destroying my current immune system. Then I'll get the transplant (which is more of a transfusion) that will eventually build up my white blood, red blood and platelets. During this time, I'll be weak and vulnerable to infections so I'll be under the protective wing of CoH until I'm strong enough to be released into the world. For most patients, that's about three weeks after the transplant.
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