10 Days until Go Time

It has been almost a month since my last blog post. It may be because I have been taking it easy in preparation for my Stem Cell Transplant and haven't had much to say. But we are now only 9 days left until I enter the hospital to begin preparation for the transplant, which will include three days of twice-a-day full-body radiation and then two days of intense chemotherapy. These treatments will destroy all of my bone marrow and leave me with no immune system. When I say no immune system, I mean none. The cells in my bone marrow must be completely absent so that when I receive my sister's stem cells, they have a clean slate to begin forming new white and red blood cells. So, I will be without white blood cells and other cells that are responsible for fighting off infections and illness. 

After the transplant has taken place, I will be quarantined for 100 days, 20 or more of them being in the hospital on a special floor designed for stem cell transplant patients and the rest at home. For me to come home, as I have said before, our home has to be completely sanitized. Sherrie has done so much work getting our home ready; she is amazing!  Also, once the transplant has taken place, the waiting begins. We will be waiting for the new stem cells to form new cells can happen quickly or take a long time. How quickly my body builds new cells will dictate how soon I will be able to go home from the hospital. The greatest concern during all this is to avoid any kind of infection. Even the common cold can end up creating a life-threatening condition like pneumonia. 

One of the hardest parts of all this is being separated from the grandkids. We, of course, love our children, but the grandkids are where it's at. We have two that live in our basement who love to come up every day and play games with me and cook with Grammie. Another set that lives two minutes away that usually comes over once a week, and then finally we have one that lives in Texas, a long way away, but fortunately, he and Sarah came in town last week so that we could see them before quarantine. Sarah is also pregnant and due during our quarantine, so we will not be able to see the new baby until I can travel. One saving grace is technology! We live and die by FaceTime, allowing us to see Sarah and our grandson every day. We will also now be using it extensively to see our local grandkids as well.  

At this point, our anxiety is pretty high as we get closer. We are grateful to all those who joined in our fast and have been praying for us. We feel your prayers and have seen them manifested in our lives. Our doctors are very positive about where things are at and how well prepared by body is for the transplant. Plus with my sister being a 10/10 match is also a very positive thing. Once again, thank you for all your prayers and support.