Day 0 - To the Guy that Doesn't Even Want One Birthday....

...now he has two!

Jay has never been a big celebrator on his birthday. No big party, presents, cake and especially no singing.  (Just between you and me, he can be just a tad grumpy on his special day).  Get him a giant cookie from Mrs. Fields that he doesn't have to share and he is good to go.  But today's Birthday is different.  In a very real way this is the first day of a new life for us. Hopefully one free of cancer for a long time. Jay will be reborn as the old bone marrow cells die and the healthy stem cells take over.

Day -1

WARNING:  Please do not attempt any of the stunts you will see on the blog today!  They are being performed by a highly trained cancer patient with months of preparation.  He has an expert support team standing by in the event he needs assistance.  I repeat, do not try this at home. (No matter how fun and exciting it may appear).

The Reinforcements are Here!

"A real woman can do it all by herself."

Changes

We have a few more days to relax until the actual transplant date of April 26-27.  It will take about a week for the collected cells to be processed, tested and confirmed.  So it's been a good time to think back on the past year and the things that have changed and the things that are the same.

Today

Ya know what happened today?

Collection Day Part II

These days are all starting to sound the same.

At the clinic at 7 am for the blood draw and then waiting for the results.

The tech hooks up Jay to the machine that will collect the cells and we wait for the ok from the doctor, then the hours long procedure begins.

But today we got a special surprise.  Two of Jay's daughters, Amber and Ginger, stopped by to spend a little time with us!

While Amber was with her Dad I got to take her son Mason to the museum.  I think I got the best end of that trade!  We just happened to find an exhibit on Stem Cells and Mason helped me put together a model.

Collection Day is Here!

It started early at 7 am again this morning, but this time we didn't need to wait for all the test results.  The shot he received last night assured us that he would be ready for collection today.  So the lab tech, Brad, met with us, went over the procedure and got things hooked up and ready to go.

Will He Stay or Will He Go?

That is the question of the day.

Sign Me Up

Back in the beginning, when the "C" word became a part of our life there was a time that I was pretty angry about the whole thing.  I remember saying to Jay one day, "I really don't think we signed up for this".  I was expecting a few sympathetic words and maybe some commiserating conversation.

My Iron Man

Jay woke up this morning and told me, "I don't feel like being a good patient today."

We both had some concern about the day's procedure.  Having a tube tunneled under the skin in your chest and then inserted into a vein and pushed down near your heart didn't sound like anything to look forward to.

We'd had a good long discussion about the procedure with Lynn's daughter, aka Dr. Kassie.  As part of her interventional radiology rotation, she had installed several of these types of devices.  "It's really not a big deal, they even let Residents do them".  But I suppose that's all a matter of perspective and which side of the "pointy end" you are on.

Headed There, Doin' It

 Yesterday was a look back, and today is a look to the future and what lies ahead.

April 8th - Installation of the Triple-lumen device


First step in the process...

Been There, Done That

Today marks exactly six months since the text message that started it all. (Read about it here).  We spent the day reflecting on all of the seemingly impossible things that are now behind us.


Like......

4 Rounds of Chemo,

Been there done that!