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@loribmt

Good morning. I expected you’d be having an allogenic transplant but didn’t want to assume anything. 😉. I think you’re a prime candidate for a transplant considering your health and your age. I was 65 at the time and up to 3 weeks before the diagnosis with AML I had been super healthy so the transplant was a no-brainer.

The donor program is amazing. The procurement process scans globally for a match. My donor was a healthy 20 year old male from the US. But I have several friends, whom I’ve met along this journey, with donors from Europe. So hopefully you get a match soon so you can move forward.

A work of caution about gardening, especially within the first year or so after transplant. There is high risk of fungal infections, sometimes fatal. I’m an avid gardener so it was tough when I was instructed to not even pull an errant weed…which is always so tempting! Wear an N-95 mask anytime you’re working with dirt…but even then, ask your team for instructions. At 5 years post transplant, I still wear a mask while working in the garden. Even though we’re given a new immune system with the transplant, it will never be has robust as our original factory installed model. 😉 So we make adaptations for our new life. It’s all good!
Keep me posted! What’s your timeline?

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Replies to "Good morning. I expected you’d be having an allogenic transplant but didn’t want to assume anything...."

Thank you Lori—
As much as it pains me I have read that gardening will be out of the question for some time and need to be cautious the rest of my life. That is a tough blow because aside from my family— gardening is the joy of my life. Even being on Hydrea and Jakafi, I experienced fungal infections so I can understand why it’s basically prohibited.

I will be having my first meeting with the transplant team this Monday, May 13th. They had sent an initial packet of forms but as I am already a patient at UofM it wasn’t too much. I’m certain there will be more.

I’m sure many of my questions/doubts will be addressed at this meeting. As I said, this is all happening quickly. I’ve wanted a transplant since my early ET diagnosis 12 years ago but now that I’ve progressed to warrant the transplant it’s a bit daunting. I want to be brave for my husband and family so they won’t fret too much.