Transplant is tomorrow!

What a difference a day makes.  Today I pulled it together and was fine.  I was really there for John.  I know the transplant is tomorrow and I need to be okay for him.  So I am.

I came into John's hospital room this morning and found him in bed.  He was really weakened today.  That is because his white blood count is only 0.3.  That is what his chart read.  It also read that his red counts were low, but not quite as low to require a blood transfusion. 

At about 3:30 Dr. Drebik came in to talk to John and me.  He said it was normal for John to feel wiped out and be lying down, and that he was still doing well.  He also explained to John that after the transplant, when John's immune system first improves, it will be John's cells that will be there, but then the donor's cells will take over by two months. 

After the doctor left I took some pictures of John.

Then the nurse came in and explained John's transplant that he will have tomorrow.  She told me to be in at 8 or 9 in the morning so I will be ready when the transplant will take place.  It will be some time in the morning.  They will actually let me be there!  It will take about one hour.  The cells will arrive tonight by plane .  They will get here tomorrow at the latest if the flight is delayed.  During the transplant we will all wear masks but John.  After the transplant, when John is finally discharged from the hospital, he will have to wear a mask all the time (except when he is in day hospital). 

During the transplant the stem cells will drip from a bag hung from the pole.  That is how most transplants are done nowadays, instead of injecting the marrow into the bones.  The stem cells will merely drip from a bag hung from the pole, down the tube, and into his chest port, and into his veins.  Somehow, the stem cells just know where to go!  That is what doctor Claxton tells us.  Dr. Claxton will be there the whole time, making sure everything goes smoothly.

How is John doing?  Remarkably well.  He is taking one moment at a time.  A little concerned about getting an infection, but ok.  A little sentimental about life.  But I think that is normal.

How am I doing?  Better than I thought I would be.  But I love John so much I didn't want to leave his hospital bedside tonight.  I made him promise that if he needed me tonight, or wanted me, to call me, and I would come back to the hospital and be by his side.  He promised, so I left.  I love him so much.  

Bye for now, Gotta get some sleep, tomorrow is the big day and things will never be the same, Krissy.