The Numbers Continue to Surprise and Pay Off! This BMT recovery thing really is a numbers game. They tell you everything. When I entered the hospital, I received four days of chemotherapy, which put my white blood cell count at around 0.0. “The better to introduce someone else’s bone marrow into your system, my dear.” […]

But I’ll write to tell you why. Confused, Overwhelmed, or Just Tired? This Bone Marrow Transplant recovery thing has been going on for 7 months, now — nearly three in the hospital, and four at “home”. Home is wherever you can get the best care, and for me, that was at my sister’s since it […]

Better Numbers and a “Boost” @faaphoto via Twenty20 The Bone Marrow Transplant recovery process is a game of numbers involving blood’s basic components: White Blood Cells: the core of your immune system Hemoglobin: red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout your body Platelets: instrumental in blood clotting. At the beginning of my post-hospital recovery, I was getting both […]

But they can change your life. The author following a daily chemotherapy treatment prior to a bone marrow transplant. Head not yet shaved. Inthe fall of 2020, I walked into my Family Doctor’s office for my annual physical and walked out with bad news. My blood panel showed that I was low on iron. They […]

Things that were a pain, and a look at the role of the “Caregiver” A hospital room is chaotic. There are doctors, nurses, and aids visiting you constantly, and the buzz of activity pretty much prevents you from watching or reading anything that isn’t short and self-contained. I brought along books and plenty of Netflix. […]

What I learned about My Heart 50 years after a First Grade Incident Typical Pacemaker My first neighborhood was Washington Heights, New York City, When I was six, I went to school for the first time. Our fathers took turns marching us (John Banks, Tommy Fallon, Joe Hornack, and me) from 179th Street and Wadsworth […]

A study of Time, Trust and Team-building. A final haircut before admission and chemotherapy. Nearly 1 hour north of where I lived, in a standalone Cancer Center apart from the massive Hospital complex, I met with the transplant program’s chief architect and leader. I cannot understate how important this meeting was, because the choices were […]

And a Bad Reaction to Rabbit Blood! Thus came the big day, Day Zero on the transplant calendar. This is your day of rebirth (of your bone marrow and blood system). It should be simple. You get a blood transfusion. That’s all. Donor Blood is Introduced into your System The rest of this recollection is […]

Where I return to old routines thanks to new medical progress. @connie3077 via Twenty20 Fifteen months ago I sat in my oncologist’s office as he explained to me what myelofibrosis was and the fact that I had it. I could look forward to a shortened lifetime of monitoring and blood transfusions, or consider a bone […]

   I spent nearly three months in the hospital getting a bone marrow transplant for my blood disease, and have now spent five months post-hospital in recuperation with home care. I lived with my sister and her husband for two months (she has no stairs at her ranch house and beautiful large property with broad […]