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Hi @loribmt — thank you so much for your response and for remembering my situation. I completed induction last April and four rounds of consolidation chemo over the summer. Currently I’m in morphological remission and feel great—back to daily endurance and strength training.

However, I am MRD positive (as assessed using flow cytometry test). Also, blood draws in September and this month show my platelet level has decreased slightly below the normal range cutoff.

I’m having another blood draw next week, this time with peripheral flow cytometry. In addition, I’m scheduled to visit Mayo on 11/21 (thanks for the info!) and will be visiting the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor on 11/5 to discuss the MRD results themselves with a flow cytometry expert.

We’re really pleased to have some appointments on the calendar so we can see where things might go from here.

Thanks again!

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Replies to "Hi @loribmt — thank you so much for your response and for remembering my situation. I..."

@pefishback I’m so happy to hear you’ll be visiting my home away from home at Mayo-Rochester. I was there last month for my annual post BMT follow-up and it’s always amazing walking through the Gonda/Mayo buildings. There’s an underlying air of confidence and calmness among the hustle and bustle of patients, clinicians, volunteers walking right along with you.

If you haven’t already, now that your appt dates are in the book, it’s important to set up your patient portal. That will be your lifeline to appointments, test results, notes from your doctor or NPs. Things can happen quickly at Mayo. So whatever is on your schedule now, may be quickly amended to run more tests, etc.. so it’s good to have that lifeline open.

Here’s a link to hotels that are connected to the campus
~Which hotels at Mayo in Rochester are connected to skywalk/subway?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/hotels/
Another helpful guide: https://www.mayoclinic.org/patient-visitor-guide/minnesota

Keeping in mind about the enormous amount of construction surrounding the campus. There’s really no white knuckle driving in Rochester. But right now it can be tricky to navigate with so many roads closed. So make sure you look at the gps on your phone to give updates on traffic patterns and closures. It’s doable! But can be frustrating at times.
That’s why I strongly encourage you to get a hotel linked to a walkway so that you can park your car once and not have to drive to the clinic and find parking quickly.
Personally, my husband and I stay at the Marriott Residence Inn on Center Street. (Full sized kitchen with fridge, dishwasher, range). Indoor parking or right across the street is a Mayo Ramp that is open to patients. It’s really inexpensive compared to the hotel parking. The ramp is Maximum of $12 daily.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. Are you flying or driving?