Hi @katgob No matter how scrupulous, hospitals are germy places for sure! So I was really happy to be offsite. ☺️
Adding to our conversation yesterday…regarding infusions and such post SCT. My transplant was at 11:30PM as my cells arrived at the clinic that evening at 8PM…Day 0. After being processed in the lab we were ‘ready to go’ for launch. My nurses had to wake me up for the big event! Seriously!

The next morning, around 10, I was then discharged after my 3-day in-patient stint. Our hotel was only 2 blocks from the clinic. Mayo allows patients to use their wheel chairs offsite. So my husband wheeled me “home.” ☺️ He didn’t have to take the car or find parking. It was really slick. Mayo Rochester is linked to many of the local businesses and hotels via a ‘tunnel’ system called the subway. After two weeks I was finally able to walk back and forth to the clinic. But we hung onto the wheel chair for a while because there were days when I just felt like I needed a chariot ride.

We had to return to the clinic daily for blood tests and vitals. If I required infusions for supplements like Magnesium or antifungal meds, then they were done at the clinic. I had a Hickman chest port which made all of that much easier. But while home, I had no IVs in me. I was completely untethered. Yay! ☺️. That’s what I mean, I felt less like an invalid or patient being able to recover at my home away from home for the transplant.

When I was confined in my local hospital room for 5 weeks, being treated for AML, that was tough! I was really quite ill so walking around much wasn’t an option. I tried daily, even with a walker. When I finally went home after 5 weeks, I saw myself in a full length mirror for the first time. I’d lost 40+ pounds, my skin had darkened in so many places, ribs and bones showing, I still had evidence of horrible rashes all over my body and bald as a cue ball. I’d lost so much muscle mass it was frightening! That was the first time I cried. Who was this person in front of me!!?

By the time I had my 2nd round of chemo for AML, I was feeling much better. Chemo was as in-patient in my local hospital. So when I went back for that 2nd week I was ready to get back to ‘normal’. I made sure to dress daily in clothing! Gowns were demoralizing and made me feel frail! So this time, during my chemo infusions, I walked 4 miles around the hospital bed tower each day! I would stick my head in other hospital rooms of fellow ‘chemo buddies’ to get them to join in! That was so helpful to keep us in higher spirits! The 3rd round was similar though admittedly it took me longer to recover after each round.

Anyway, I reached remission and that took me up to the transplant. My husband and I relocated 4 hours from home to Rochester for almost 4 months. We had quite an adventure for two old fossils. Rochester is really a beautiful city. While I was at the clinic daily, my husband would take long walks around the city, there are wonderful trails along the river and creeks. He’d go grocery shopping or exploring. I was so relieved that he had a fairly ‘normal’ life while I was learning my new life. ☺️

Happy to hear your Pap test was clear. I would expect the same with your Guardant results! Like I’ve said all along, you could be the poster child for how our BMTs are supposed to go, Kat! ☺️ I did eventually change blood times to that of my donor. I had been B+ and now I am 0+. But my doctor did tell me that not everyone changes and that unless there are blood products necessary, they don’t check for blood types. So I went ahead and sent for a blood kit to test myself. That’s how I found out.

Happy 4th of July! Thanks to our donors, we’re here to celebrate another holiday! 💕 🎆