Email from M

M sent this out to all his family and friends last week...

Hey there!

Well... I am scheduling my bone marrow transplant. Yeah, that sucks! But its either do or die. So... I think I'd rather live.

I will be having it done in Seattle, Washington at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. They are the best in the US, if not the world.

We are trying to schedule it for the end of July... and if it was like some simple procedure, I'd be home in a couple of weeks... but, NOOOOO! It has to take 4 months. So we will be there sometime in the middle of July until the middle of November, if all goes well. The actual chemo and transplant will take place the last week of July or the first week of August. I should be out of the hospital by the end of August, but have to hang out and deal with transplant issues for 100 days, before I get to go home. All of this is if things go as planned.

T. and my mom will take care of me while I'm there, but if you want to come up and see me, please do. I'm sure both will need a break. T. will have to go home before me, as medical family leave is only 12 weeks, and she will lose her job and our insurance if she doesn't. So my mom will care for me while she is back home. Unfortunately, I won't be able to care for myself, not sure what that means... but they won't schedule the transplant if someone is not there. But, please feel free to come see me and visit. Yes, I know its not exactly what you had in mind for a vacation... too bad its not in Hawaii, I'd have everyone come see me. :P

What should you expect, if you come visit? Well... I am told I will have good days and bad days. Good days means I will feel just like I do now, slightly tired, but normal (if you can say that about me). Bad days... well... that sounds like I won't get out of bed and will sleep a lot. There is not much pain involved, most of the time. Sometimes, it will be like a stomach bug, or a really bad sore throat. But from the sound of it, I will need to get my mind off of my body and keep occupied/active. Mostly, I just need to keep from getting sick and let my new stem cells grow and do their thing.

I will be on immuno-suppressing drugs for two years... yep it takes that long. So I am told I won't be working for at least a year. I wish it was a nice vacation, but it doesn't sound that way. So if you can't make Seattle and want to visit the fine state of Missouri, that is always an option. And if that is not your cup of tea, well... sounds like I will have some free time on my hands and I'll have time to finally email. Yeah... I was kinda lousy at that before, but I think I can promise to get better at it. :)

Well, wasn't that fun?! Thanks for being part of my drama. I hope to hear from you.


M.

---------------------
In the immortal words of Socrates,
"I drank what?!"