dingpatch
Posts: 19085
Joined Forum: 07/24/2003
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Uneventful drive Tuesday. Set the cruise control on 84 and flowed along with traffic. Drove 95, 528, Turnpike, 75, 475, 75, 24 to Nashville.
Started bright and early Tuesday (5/5/20) morning at 7am. Went to Pulmonary first for a Pulmonary Function breathing and O2 and CO2 test. Then back to BMT where they took more vials of blood than I could count. Peed in the bottle. Then had a pleasant bone marrow biopsy, LOL LOL. Then an EKG, then a chest X-ray, then a MUGA scan. Got back to the hotel room sooner than I expected.
Wednesday started bright and early at 7am with a PET scan. Then up to the BMT clinic for vitals, a good talk with my Nurse Practitioner (NP) Case Manager, then an in-depth talk with the NP and my Transplant Doctor; why I need a Transplant, the good things, and the Bad things, etc. All went well. All of my tests were good, except that they had not got back the results of the PET scan, and the bone marrow would take a little longer because they were doing a very deep dive into the genetics of my marrow. And, , , , my White Count was up to 2.2 from 1.8!!! I will be inpatient at the VA Medical Center during the Transplant process (about 3 weeks) but for a period of time after the transplant, my immune system will be rated as "0.00%"!!!!!
After the discussions with the NP and Doctor, I asked what was next for Thursday. They were happy to report that I was done for now and that I could go home Thursday and not wait until Friday as originaly scheduled!! YAY!!.
IF, all is OKAY, the BMT department will start the donor process. From there it will be 6 to 8 weeks before I go back to Nashville for the Really Big Show!! But, it could be a longer wait if they find that my bone marrow can "wait". They are very hesitant to put me through the "wringer" if not immediately needed due to the threats of that little "COVID" thingy.
The drive home was, again, uneventful. Drove 24, 75, 475, 75, 10, 275, 95. Set the cruise on 85 and kept up with traffic all the way home. We had more than a few idiots pass us like we were sitting still!! Speed on Brother, Hell aint half full. It was a 10.5 hour drive each way.
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Dora Hates You
Edited: 05/08/2020 at 04:12 PM by dingpatch
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dingpatch
Posts: 19085
Joined Forum: 07/24/2003
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Timeline:
1st week testing and review results
2nd week get line, admitted and start chemo
3rd week finish chemo and transplant: Day 0
In hopstial probably for another 14 days til blood count recovery
You will be in Nashville for at least 100 days after Day 0
during your inpatient stay, you do not have to have a support person there the whole time. We encourage, but not required.
You listen very well. Damn near perfect!!
AND, , , , the chemo is starting to work a little bit better, , , , my White Count is "up" to 3.9!! 4.2 is the minimum of the "normal range.
And, the VA NP and Doctor made it very clear to me last week that after this Transplant, I WILL BE THEIR PATIENT for the rest of eternity in regard to anything to do with the transplant. Anything in regard to "check ups", "follow ups", "problems", etc will be done in Nashville. The Lake Nona location will only be a starting "reference" point. Lots of travel coming up over the 12 months after the Transplant.
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Dora Hates You
Edited: 05/14/2020 at 07:00 PM by dingpatch
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dingpatch
Posts: 19085
Joined Forum: 07/24/2003
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Not quite "millions" but last time they told me it was really close to 1/4! (BUT, I did do a search and found that "Joe Public of my age would end up creating "billings" of over $1 million!!!!
But the VA and Vanderbilt have a symbiotic relationship on this:
The VA Medical Center is located in the middle of Vandy's campus and it is physically connected to the Vandy Medical Center and Cancer Institute. The VA gets to have access to all of Vandy's "state of the art" treatments and stem cell research/specialists (along with many other organ transplant disciplines). Vandy gets to have access to the large VA pool of patients and the Vandy doctors work at the VA, for the VA, and as such, Vandy does not have to cover any "liability insurance costs" for their efforts at the VA!!! It works to everyone's best interests.
Between the VA and Vandy, that location performs more bone marrow/stem cell, kidney, liver and lung transplants that any other place in the country!
Again, I had previously been upset about being sent to a VA facility in Tennessee (before I knew what really goes on there). "Why can't you send me to somewhere good here in Florida like Moffitt?" "Well, would you rather get treated here by the doctors that wrote the paper or, do you want to get treated somewhere else where the doctors are reading the instructions?" !!!!!!
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Dora Hates You
Edited: 05/19/2020 at 07:39 AM by dingpatch
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dingpatch
Posts: 19085
Joined Forum: 07/24/2003
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Finished the 5th round of "belly shot chemo" this past Friday (5/15/20). Same old but, my little belly is pretty darn tender right now. Not too tired or such but, my "taste" aint no good. Oh well, could be worse.
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Dora Hates You
Edited: 05/18/2020 at 02:21 PM by dingpatch
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