Transplant time is upon us. Yesterday, I signed the consent papers giving my approval for the dangerous procedure. What other options do I have? Basically none. One last shot to attempt to cure the cancer and snatch me away from the open arms of death. I asked, “What if the donors cells don’t engraft in my body”
“That would be inconsistent with life” my doctor responded. (*psst* lemme tell you a secret, ”inconsistent with life” means “relatively certain death.”)
Han Solo once barked at C-3PO, “never tell me the odds!” But, I’m no Solo and I wanted to know. According to the algorithm that accounts for over 15 different factors between myself and the donor, I have a ~75% chance of being alive in one year. No promises of cure, no promises of how many limbs I’ll have, just a 75% chance at heart still beating, lungs still pumping in one year. Beyond that, the crystal ball gets blurry. Still, I’m so grateful for world class treatments close to home to offer me even a few more days a life! People, if you aren’t waking up grateful for every day, start today!
The current path to transplant:
1) we need the official reading of my PET scan (the last one looked pretty dang good so this one likely will be good enough too)
2) we need my donor to follow through
3) gotta run though an obstacle course of pre-admission tests
4) then late next week we can admit to the hospital for a little month+ vacation.
You know I’ll keep you along for the ride.
Onward!
-Ben
P.s. Picture unrelated but took a trip up to Sault St. Marie. Saw big boats. Here’s me with the Burns Harbor, a 1000ft lake freighter.
