Day -1

Wow...plenty of guestbook signatures today, which was great to read. Thanks for all of the support and prayers. As I type right now, I am feeling about as good as I have since I've been in the hospital. I'm showered(which doesn't happen as often as I'd like when I'm constantly connected to IVs), eating dinner(salad and hummus for those who are interested), and I don't have any pains, nausea or discomfort for the first time in a few days. I was also able to sleep fairly well last night and got in a nap this afternoon after a visit from Kate and Isaiah.

Unfortunately the day didn't start out so hot. I woke up feeling kind of nauseous, but thought things had settled down when I had some yogurt. I wasn't feeling up to eating much solid food at that point. I lay down for a bit, and when I stood up and coughed, I realized the yogurt wasn't going to stay down. So I had a pretty good fit of vomiting to start my day, but the nausea ceased after that.

Aside from the early morning things have gone well though. I've napped, which always helps time fly by, and the day has been enjoyable. I realized recently that its been a week in the hospital for me already. It has certainly felt long at times, but overall it hasn't been too bad. I'd much rather be at home with Isaiah and Kate though.

Tommorow will be the day of transplant, and I've been told it will happen sometime in the late afternoon. Since the donor is unrelated, they don't conduct the procedure at the same hospital. So the exact time is unknown while they wait for the bone marrow cells to be transported to NIH. I'm pretty excited. I'm feeling great right now, and I don't have any infections that could create complications right now. My neutrophil count is under 100 right now, so my immune system is close to gone. The drugs that are used to help engraft the new bone marrow cells are immunosuppressants, so I'll likely be at risk of infection for 7-10 days after the transplant. However, the lack of problems so far is a good sign of things to come.