Women... the best medicine
I was contacted by the Gulf Coast Blood Center. www.GiveBlood.org My story was chosen to appear in the new commercials. We will film on April 16. They asked me to bring a casual and a business outfit. Haha ha does that mean my wranglers without stains and my inside boots? Casual? Cargo shorts, flip-flops and t-shirt optional.
If you read yesterdays entry you noticed that I made changes to the website and added some things. Helping Tami is a story that I am taking personal. She is in need of a transplant and does not have a matching donor in her family. She has to go through the bone marrow registry and the odds are not in her favor. Once I was accepted as a patient at MD Anderson they asked who did I have that may be a match. My sister was it, and even at that I was told the likelihood of female to male transplants were rare. I spent more time learning about the bone marrow program and was discouraged. Your best chance of a match is someone of your same ethnicity. I have never met a mexican american male that is a marrow donor. It is the last thing you would ever think of doing. Normal people do not go to dinner and a movie than say "hey, lets go donate some bone marrow to save a life". It is not done that way. If those same two people were informed about the role they could have in saving a human life, and knew of the procedure, they may be inclined to donate. I was preparing to host donor drives, I was blessed by my sister being a 100% match. Than I was informed my daughter was a 90% match. I was lucky. The registry is still important to me and you will be hearing more about it in the coming weeks.
Right now I feel good, real good, maybe too good. I have so much to do, so many people to thank, to repay, (I wonder if all debts I had prior to the transplant are only attached to that body with the old dead stem cells? Now that I have been reborn I should be debt free, don't you think? DES' hint hint) This is Easter weekend, there could be no better time to be reborn.
The discharge doctor was here and went over the do's and don'ts I must follow at discharge. I am posting them here so patients know what is coming and for family and friends to understand and support. Let it be known that I may not be in total agreement with some of these items but I will abide by anything they ask me to do.
1 100 days in Houston (for follow-up appointments and transfusions)
2 Caregiver 24/7 (I believe this to be overkill)
3 Daily appointments to ATC for 2 weeks, including weekends
4 Seen daily by the APN/PharmD
5 Once a week seen by Clinic MD
6 Wear masks on outpatient visits, at MD Anderson, crowds
7 Handwashing: soap & water or hand gel cleanser
8 Avoid crowds, sick people, churches, gyms, zoos, pools
9 Screen visitors: must be healthy, no fever, no colds, coughs or sore throats
10 Okay to go place when not croweded (ie. eat out 11 AM-4 PM)
11 No fresh fruits or vegetables. Everything must be cooked, no decorations or garnish on plate
12 No buffets - everything must be made to order
13 Drink at least 1.5 - 2 liters of fluids a day. Limit caffeine intake. No Alcohol
14 Activity - out of bed majority of day - waking
15 Avoid plants, pets, children under 12 years of age
16 Intimacy issues
Those are the rules. Number 16 is confusing, I have not been intimate in so long I may need a blue pill to get things going again.
Rog, this is a wonderful article. We are very proud of what you are doing to help Tami, have you sent this to Uncle Larry? How far is San Diego from where she lives? Maybe he knows of someone willing to take a swab test. We are here ready to support you in your steps to recovery. Just remember, take small steps building your body back a day at a time. Your body has taken a beating for 354 days straight.
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Roger thank you so much for helping Tami. I've told so many people about you in the past few days and they are all wishing you well. I'm so glad you had your sister as a perfect match.
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