The Transplant Option

We are almost caught up to the present , gentle reader.

Soundtrack

Sorry about the ads on the youtube videos, if any of you programmers know how to defeat them , please tell me.

10  minute operation, 2 Months to heal

Actually, fistulotomy was a breeze, and The Geezers played for a birthday party at Deerfield Clubhouse the following  night.

  

Right after the gig, the painkillers wore off, and I was bedridden for a week or so, but  hey, I didn't miss the gig. Sitz baths and lidocane creme were the order of the day.

Back to watchful waiting, and some sobering thoughts

During the convalescence it was back to watchful waiting.  Weekly blood labs at the Raab, Thanksgiving and Christmas came and went, and we risked  trips to Virginia  to Anne's sisters' house for the holidays.

Carol and Layne own American Family RV, and we had our own space in this cool little camper. a trade-in that Layne set up in his driveway for us, so we had a sterile place to retreat to when sneezing relatives came around to visit or chow down.

Over Thanksgiving we  finally got around to burying Anne's parents' ashes at St. John's Episcopal in Hampton.

Well, all of her mother Dot's ashes, and what was left of her father Bill's.  Back a few years ago we had loaded some of his ashes in here, the bow gun

on Capt. Sinbad's Meka II, 

and distributed some of his ashes off the Chamberlin at the entrance to Hampton Roads.













Sinbad's Site
http://www.pirate-privateer.com/

THE BOX

It was my lot within the family to build a suitable box for the ashes. I decided on a simple white pine box with 

Becket's like a sea chest for handles. 

Trust me, there is nothing quite like building a coffin to get one thinking about their mortality.

I considered knocking out a second one, so Anne would have a repository for my ashes, but decided that was too morbid and pessimistic. 

I made it 5 weeks  in December without a transfusion, and thought maybe I was getting better from eating healthy, and using the new juicer religiously, but no, just another peak on the roller coaster.

A Bone Marrow Transplant!

I wanted to go back to Dr. Duke at Duke to get advice on what to do next-  like stronger chemo, switch to Vidaza, maybe try a little Revlamid or one of the Thalidomide derivatives.

At my January FUMD  ( Raab Clinic shorthand for Follow Up with Doctor - evidently some programmer has a sense of humor)  I asked  Dr. Loynes  if I might be a candidate for a Transplant in spite of my age.

He referred me to a medico at Duke, and got me an appointment for the following Wednesday. 

Here is Duke's web page

Anne and I drove up the night before, and met with the transplant team, from the financial office to the social worker. There are some videos about the facility on you tube  :inpatient,  outpatient

So I was Not too old to be considered for a transplant, and the search began for a suitable Donor!
My sister Laurie was sent a donor kit. 1 in 4 chance.

OK, coming together fast now...We are caught up to last month.

Stay tuned!

And feel free to comment.

Chris