Wednesday Update

I met with Dr. Grinblatt for the last time prior to the transplant this morning, he said I was still doing great. I asked about my blood counts, and he said the R-ICE really didn't take them down much at all, and that's the part that has him so surprised. I asked if that would be a problem for the transplant, if the BEAM didn't take my counts down. He laughed and said, "Oh, BEAM will bring them down, no doubt."

So, I got that to look forward to, ugh. :) Anyway, I'm feeling great. I'm really exhausted today, because we overdid it a little yesterday, but it was worth it. I am going to have to sleep this afternoon though, whew I'm tired.

The meetings at Northwestern Memorial Hospital(from now on NMH), went very well. All my apprehension eased as I got to know the apheresis nurse and saw how the collection process will work, and then meeting with the transplant coordinator and finding out about my room and what I can/can't bring really made me feel much more confident. This is not going to be fun, but I can get through it. And its really amazing how much they let the patient control their environment. I can bring my own pillow(has to be brand new or direct from the dry cleaner), blanket, pictures or poster, comfortable clothes(I don't have to wear the stupid gown the whole time), snacks of my own choosing(although they made some good suggestions), DVDs, computer(they do have high speed I can use), basically alot of the creature comforts of home to help make the hospital room a little more comfortable.

Afterwards, Mom, Dad and I went to Columbia Yacht Club for lunch where we met our friends Tracy and Matt Howard who own the Alden Sloop Allegro, which is a gorgeous two masted wooden schooner built in 1929. They have carefully rebuilt it, and were kind enough to take us out for a sail. There was very little wind, and it was steaming hot, but I loved every minute of it. Thanks Tracy and Matt. We were joined by our good friend Gary Hooper, and a good time was had by all.

Needless to though, it made for a long day and I'm pretty worn out today. Was it worth it? Absolutely! Am I doing anything today? Absolutely not!

I feel good about my transplant, and after yesterday, I feel good about going to NMH and the support I will receive. I have known it would be ok, but yesterday was finally putting a face on the transplant team, and dealing with the reality that its here. It's funny, a friend of mine asked me the other day how was I always so upbeat and happy. How do I do it as I go through the chemo and the transplant. I didn't have a good answer for her, so I just said, "I don't know. I kind of think of it this way. Cancer, to me, is like the sky being blue or the sun coming up in the East. It's a part of my life, and that's it. I choose to be happy, because I want to be happy. Cancer can't change that."

I'm ready now.