What Will Happen?

   Seven more days until T-Day.  Many of you have asked me what I will be facing and what it will all be like so today I will simply lay out the information in a factual sort of way for you (at least to the extent of what I know).
    When the transplant process begins, I will become a resident of 5-C at Spectrum Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan for three to four weeks.  For the first week of my stay, I will be administered a heavy dose of chemotherapy designed to zap whatever residual cancer-crap that may be still floating around inside of me.  After another week or so I will be reintroduced to a large Zip-loc bag full of my own stem cells which were harvested from me on May 1.  The medical personnel then monitor me closely to see if the blood-cell family reunion is a joyous and non-combative affair and that all of those little guys play well together.  The occasion will also be accompanied by a myriad of drugs, pills, and prescriptions to assist in this coming-together time.  It will look a lot like Club Med (ication).
   As time goes on my blood counts will be watched closely and when the numbers indicate that the white blood cells are back to where they ought to be and the stem cells are doing what they are supposed to do and the rest of the critters in my veins are back to enjoying life together, I will be allowed to come home to recover.  "Recover" means to avoid large groups of people, mold, gardening, snakes, chain saws, turtles, campfire smoke, lawn mowers, dust, germs, beer, pollen, fish eyes, bad Chinese food, dead critters the cat brings home, trips to most African countries, volcanoes, fast cars, alligators, bird poop, dog poop, cat poop, poop in general, car repairs (like I ever did that in the first place), mean individuals (I am not releasing my list just yet, but don't worry -- I don't think you are on it), returning the Michigan ten-cent cans and bottles (well, not really, but I never liked that job so I am putting it on my list), and a plethora of other things since I will have no immunities built up.  Later I will have to be shot up with any and all inoculations that I ever received as a child because all of that will be filtered out of my system too.  Even whooping cough.  The doctor claims that the first one hundred days must be lived out with this sense of hyper vigilance, but then it will take 4-6 months before I am back to "normal."
   There you have the low-down.  That is the basic information of the process I will be facing in one week.  My patience is stretched right now.  Let's just get this party started.  My blood cells need each other.  They all want to be one big happy family again.  Let's go.