Hi @katgob.
You’re curious about the outpatient protocol of Mayo Clinic. Here’s why…Mayo Clinic’s BMT program has found that people in an Out-patient environment have a lower risk of contracting infections related to a hospital stay and they are more likely to be out of bed for longer periods of time, which can help you keep your strength. On the practical side less hosptial time is less expensive. And outpatient services allows access to bone marrow transplant care for more people because hospital rooms are less used.

When I first learned that my BMT would be as an outpatient I was a little hesitant. Something this big, why am I not in a hospital? But honestly, as it turned out my husband and I both felt it was really a healthy and a more advantageous environment for us to live in our ‘home away from home’ which was a 2 bedroom/2 bath hotel suite with full kitchen. I was able to walk around more during the day (and night) instead of being confined basically to a room. I really felt that allowed me to feel less like a patient and my recovery moved steadily along. I had access to food at all times in our fridge where I could get up and find snacks myself when I had a fleeting moment of an appetite. Didn’t have to wait for ‘meal times’. Nights weren’t disturbed with routine vitals checks. Plus, I wasn’t in a hosptial environment which, no matter how tight the infection control protocols, they are germy places. Infection control is vital post BMT. But it is possible to do that offsite a hotel or apartment, etc.
In my career in the field of Dentistry, I was also the Infection Control Coordinator. My training gave me a head’s up in the world of germs. LOL I honestly felt I had more control over my environment in my ‘own’ suite than in any hospital. ☺️

This is how we kept germ free…We moved into our suite 2 days before I was scheduled to start the week of testing. We came armed with our own sanitation supplies. So my husband and I sanitized that apartment from top to bottom. We requested new shower curtains in the bathrooms which the hotel staff was quite accommodating. We’d brought our own toilet brush and cleaner so my husband did MY bathroom daily. Maid service did the cleaning in the rest of the apartment but my room was off limits. I had a clean sheet from home on the sofa so I could sit there if not in my room, even though we had Lysol sprayed soft surfaces. I wore a VOG mask except in my room where the door was closed often. My husband would mask up if we were together. This was before Covid…

It was basically the same as if I were living at home. If I needed to return to the hospital (which I did for 7 days) it was simple a phone call and I was re-admitted. I returned to the clinic daily for labs and infusions/fluids, etc.
My insurance paid for everything except the lodging. Had I stayed in my home state of Wisconsin, my insurance would have paid a stipend of $10K for lodging for my husband at a hotel. But we were insistent on Mayo where we were together in a suite offsite and I wasn’t confined in a room for a month. I’d been in my hometown hospital 5 weeks initially. Then a subsequent 3 weeks. 8 weeks of being in a hospital was enough! So by the time I had my BMT, I was quite happy not to be stuck in a bed all day. LOL.

Wishing you an ‘unremarkable’ visit with your hematologist at the end of the month! ☺️ Did I tell you I no longer have any local hemo-checks? That was a big moment of departure a few months ago. Had a lovely talk with my hematologist whom I had the past 7 years. I gave him a few grey hairs along the way…he told me. LOL. Anyway, he said there is no clinical reason for annual checks with him anymore more. The AML isn’t returning and the BMT was successful. So we hugged and he said “I hope I never have to see you again.” I sat in my car and cried happy tears but with mixed emotions. I still have my annual BMT followup though at Mayo.
Good luck with the measles vaccine. That one let me know I’m still alive! 😂. Ice up, baby!! Ice up! I’m so happy that your journey has been immensely successful, Kat!

@katgob @loribmt
Hello friends!
So good to hear you are both doing well!! Congratulations to you both on amazing health milestones!
I wanted to jump in and tell you that my husband, who had his BMT on June 12, 2024 recently had his MMR and had no reaction whatsoever!
We had his CD4 (helper cells measuring his immune system strength to build antibodies) tested before he had the immunization and it was in the safe zone over 200. Then he just went for it! Now he is all done with his childhood vaccinations. Bonus is that his most recent biopsy shows 100% chimerism, no blasts, and MRD negative. Amen and hallelujah, it’s truly a miracle.
In fact, the day we visited his hematologist to discuss the results and confirm he no longer needs maintenance chemo, we walked into the waiting room afterward and a guest musician was singing “I Can See Clearly Now”…..

Well, we both teared up right there, turned to each other and held on for a long time. It was quite a beautiful moment.

For me, amidst the best news we could possibly ask for, I find myself having some PTSD, with memories of the intensity of the whole experience, from diagnosis to treatment, the fears, anxiety, constant vigilance, and all consuming nature of caregiving. I think I’m just now allowing myself to process some of that. And of course, you are both familiar with the low level anxiety that will likely always remain with us as we face each day and the prospect of relapse (God bless you Lori for the grace and hearing the words from your doc that AML is not coming back!).

Thanks for being here, listening, and supporting so many of us. We belong to a special club of humans. ❤️
Wishing you both a safe and beautiful holiday weekend.

Mary