The Transplant Schedule

 This is a little weird. Since 1989, I haven't taken more than two weeks off work. And yet, here I am with an open-ended leave that will last a couple months at least. I have two emails in my inbox. I have no meetings on my calendar. It feels like I'm leaving my job, or getting ready for a big vacation. After all, I have my suitcase packed for my 3+ week stay at the hospital. 

My bags are packed (almost),
and I'm ready to go (sort of)

But of course, this isn't a vacation. 

The Stem Cell Transplant calendar all centers around your transplant day. That's day zero. But the process starts before that. Tomorrow, I get my port placed and admitted to the Brigham. Then Saturday through Tuesday (days -5 through -2), it's chemotherapy or conditioning to eliminate any potentially lurking lymphoma cells that might not show up on PET/CT scans but could be hiding out, waiting to divide and conquer. 

Day -1 (Wednesday, the 15th) is a rest day. It's  also the drop date for season three of Ted Lasso, so there's that.  Then on the 16th, it's the new stem cell party. It's not an overly long process, and from what I understand, it's akin to getting an infusion of any blood product. Days +3 and +4 bring an infusion of cytoxan, an immunosuppressive treatment. After that, it's recovery as my immune system starts to build itself anew.  And if all goes to plan, about 13-16 days after transplant day, my immune system will be strong enough that I can be discharged and begin the home recovery period.

So definitely not a vacation, but maybe the prelude to a long-term vacation from lymphoma. And that's something I can believe in.