Psyche Trip

Mom and I just returned from our last mini-trip to Tampa. Next time, that’s it; we’re living in Tampa. We left on Tuesday since my appointment was relatively early Wed. morning. As usual, it took a long 4 hours to get there, and after checking in at the hotel, we drove around trying to become familiar with the area by finding the Publix and Blockbuster, etc. That night, we drove to Andi’s and had dinner with her family. Michael made wonderful chicken with a super tasty marinade, and Andi’s kids are adorable. Two-year-old Nathan is a little chatterbox who kept calling both me and my mom Jamie. He was looking for constant attention and barely ate any food – he reminded me so much of Jacob’s energy and food pickiness. It was a nice evening. Andi’s house is lovely and covered in decorations; Andi said Christmas threw up in her house. Andi’s family is being nice enough to store stuff for us until we move into the Tampa apartment. In the end, I really had a nice night.

The next day (Wed.) we arrived at the research center for Moffitt – a new location for us. I had to fill out a questionaire that asked tons of questions when we checked in. Then I was taken away to be psychologically evaluated. It was interesting. First, it was a lot of questions, an interview; then, it was a series of tests. I started by reading a list of words, focusing on pronunciation. It was easy at first with words like tree but then it went to words I’d never seen, so I can’t even repeat them. I just had to do my best to pronounce them. One of the hard words was meant to be hyperbole, but as an English teacher, I know how to pronounce that one! After that, I had to do a lot with memory. She said around 10 simple words and I had to repeat them. Harder than it sounds; I swear my mind would go blank. We did the same words 4x and I’m proud to say I got them all by the end. We then did numbers and that was the hardest thing I did. I had to also repeat a very short story, but it was full of details. I had to copy/draw a figure with a bunch of details. I also got to play connect the dots. Then, she returned to the list of words, the story and the figure and asked me to recall them. I actually think I did pretty well. It was kinda fun. Unfortunately, aside from “you’re good” I didn’t get any specific results. The actually psych doctor was very nice and said I’m good to go. Let’s see (before I bore anything)… highlights with the doctor… my donor being male is an asset. Apparently, with women, we have crazy hormones and if we’ve had children there could be antibodies, etc. while a man has none of that, so it’s a cleaner transplant. We also discussed work and how fatigue will be a major issue and how I may need more time such as extending my leave for another year and I’ll have to set ground rules when I do return. I did learn that I have to be cleared before I can return to work (and drive too!). Again, it went well and what was great is that no physical pain was involved.

Then lunch – no fasting! The cafeteria was really pretty decent and both mom and I had a nice lunch.

We arrived at the BMT office early and my transplant doctor saw us in the hallway, which moved us along because she decided that she wanted to see us early. Not much additional information except that my donor is from Germany! It’s so interesting because he’s supposed to be such a perfect 10/10 match and I have a huge German ancestry. The fact that the cells are coming from Germany may delay my zero day (transplant day) by a day so it could be the 16th instead of the 15th. We’re still waiting to hear if all is well with the donor’s blood but everyone seems confident. I leave next Monday for Tampa. Tuesday I get my hickman (the tube in my chest) replaced so that I’ll have 3 lumens instead of 1. I then meet later with the team. Wed. I get admitted into the hospital and I begin chemo conditioning that night. I get chemo conditioning for 4 days then I get to rest for 2 and then transplant day/day zero.  Of course, during this, they will constantly take blood and pump me with meds. After the transplant, it takes 10 to 14 days for my body to start making white blood cell with the donor’s. So I will probably leave the hospital for the apartment in early January if all goes well. So I will be in the hospital for Christmas. Boo. But we’re going to have a mini-Christmas on Saturday and do my traditional breakfast and open a few gifts early. That night Jake is going to sing at his school’s Christmas stroll. Then Sunday will be getting it all together at the last minutes. Whoa. So much, so fast, but it will all work out.

Addition: I forgot to include that according to the bone marrow biopsy I had the last time I was at Moffitt, I no longer have the Philadelphia chromosome. It’s gone; chemo killed it and the chances of it returning are slim. This is great news but I still need to have the transplant because there’s always a chance of reoccurrence unless I get cleaned out.

Related posts:

1. -5 So It’s 5 Days Until the Transplant
2. What’s Going On?
3. Tampa in a Day!
4. It’s Wednesday Again
5. And the Countdown Has Begun

Tags: Jamie, Leukemia