Waiting Redux

 

“If you start to take Vienna – take Vienna!!”

Napoleon Bonaparte – on keeping focused on a goal, applying overwhelming force, and not getting distracted.

 

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It's been a busy month in Kevin Land. And the pace is about to increase!

First, though, I encourage you to read, or re-read, this post: How My Cancer Might Save Your Life. It's a quick read, and if you pay close attention, you'll be a different person afterwards. 100% guaranteed, or triple your money back.

After my daughter Morgan's wedding on New Year's Eve, we had a whole month before my transplant, scheduled for the first week of February (essentially, now). That month evaporated quickly! A trip to Georgia for our grandson's first birthday; most of a week of tests, a day of consulting, and all of a sudden, BAM, it was The Day. Except, not so much.

To get ready for a transplant, in a weird sort of paradox, you have to prove how healthy you are! So the third week of January I went through three days of testing, sort of Moffitt's version of Navy Seal Hell Week. Since I've done all this before, I knew what to expect. They set you up for 6-7 appointments per day, for three days. The opening shot is blood work. Now, cancer patients do blood work, a lot. I've tried to count the number of blood tests I've had over the last nine years, and it's a hopeless task. Maybe 800? Usually they draw 3 or 4 tubes. Well, the pre transplant experience is what they call a "mega panel." The term "mega" usually denotes something cool. Here it means 20 tubes. For at least 5 minutes, the tech filled test tubes. Not like a pint, when you donate, but somehow a lot more impressive seeing a foot and a half of tubes racked up.

What follows are tests for your heart (MUGA, or Multigated Aquisition scan); lungs (pulmonary functions, like the worlds worst breathalyzer test in an airtight phone booth); full body CT; a psych workup including memory, reasoning, and spatial baselines; financial, social, research, and treatment counseling; and probably some things I've forgotten. Results? I'm so stinkin' healthy it's a crime to wreck it treating the cancer. All joking aside, the healthier you are going in, the better your chances of survival. So my year of taking the stairs, doing heavy yard work, doing occasional races, and (kind of) improving my diet has paid off.

I found out about my donor. (Spoiler alert. Things happened). She is a 50 year old German mother, with a different blood type than mine. Big surprise. Since it's a transplant, you can change types. The "blood organ" doesn't really bother the rest of the body. Plus, I'd have type XX blood in an XY body. So paternity tests, Olympic trials, and certain other genetic events are off the table for me.

I was scheduled to go to Moffitt Tuesday night (now, as I write this). On Monday, at 4:15 I was driving home from work, when my transplant doc called. At 3, a new donor had been registered that was a better match for me. So we decided to delay things for 2-3 weeks while the new donor is brought on board. This is a younger, 35 year old man. For technical reasons I don't have time to go through here, male plus younger equals lower risk.

Since we'd already gone through all the mental and physical and family and friend and work preparations, it was a bucket of cold water to change plans in an hour. But, a lower risk transplant is worth a short wait.

So now, we re-wait.

Sometimes, even Napoleon had to wait for things to firm up!

Kevin