This has been a very busy week with many appointments. When they told me my health was about to become a full time job they weren’t kidding! 

I spent 4 days this week at Fred Hutch.  I started with my transplant team on Wednesday (2/7), which means I am now under their care and have begun the 2 week work up prior to being admitted to the hospital. During these 2 week, I will undergo many tests to ensure all of my organs are functioning well prior to starting chemo. These tests include pulmonary function tests, EKG, echocardiogram, chest CT, bone marrow biopsy, etc. 

I will also have a  Hickman line placed, which is a type of central line for administration of chemo and other meds, as well as do blood draws from. I am scheduled to have that placed 2/23. 

For those who aren’t familiar with a Hickman line here is a quick summary of what it is and how it works: “A Hickman line is a soft, small, long, hollow tube that is placed into a vein in the chest and ends in a larger vein just above your heart. A Hickman line is used long-term to access your veins and can be used to give chemotherapy, intravenous medications, nutrition, and to draw blood for labs.”

Once all of the pre-transplant tests are complete, I will have a data review conference. As long as all of my tests look satisfactory, I will be admitted to the hospital 2/26. 

My admit day is considered  Day -9. The way days are counted for bone marrow transplants start with negative days, with the “negatives” lead up to the actual transplant. 

Day -9 to Day -2 will be my chemo days, and then Day -1 I will receive 2 doses of radiation to help prevent my body from rejecting my sister’s cells. 

3/6 will be the big transplant day which is basically just a glorified blood transfusion for me. This will begin Day 0/100. 

I am guaranteed to lose all of my hair which is something I am dreading. However, I am choosing to take control of the situation and plan on shaving my head and donating my hair prior to chemo. I feel like it will be better for my mental health to shave it rather than watch it fall out in clumps. This journey is going to be challenging and I can’t wait to have this part far behind me. 

My younger sister, Kira, joined me on 2/7 to get her work-ups complete, ensuring she is fit to be my donor. My little superhero of a sister went in and had many labs drawn as well as a physical and discussions of what her bone marrow procedure will look like. 

She will undergo a bone marrow “harvest” which is pretty intense. They will make 2 small incisions in her iliac crest and will aspirate about a liter of bone marrow which  means they will be poking into her bone 100-200 times! We also found out that Kira has O- blood type (I am A+). After I receive my transplant, my blood type will eventually also be O-. The science is wild and I am grateful I live in a time where they have the knowledge and capabilities that they do! 

The beginning of this week was really rough. I was sick and extremely fatigued from the egg retrieval. I had an ultrasound to make sure I wasn’t suffering from ovarian hyper-stimulation syndrome which is something that can happen while undergoing ivf. Fortunately I do not have that and was just informed that my ovaries were swollen and full of cysts from the retrieval which is expected from a retrieval as big as mine. The silver lining to all of that is that we were informed that of our 14 embryos, 11 are viable and are being Cryopreserved for the future. 

I am blown away by all of the love and support I continue to receive along this road to recovery. I have a strong village behind me and I appreciate each and every one of you who continues to support me through this. The future is bright and I am constantly reminded of how much I have to fight for. This life isn’t perfect but I would not be who I am without these trials and for that I am grateful. Cheers to a healthier future!