@rrtdave I had a stem cell transplant July 24, 2026.
I rented a pet friendly vrbo near Mayo Clinic so our special needs dog could be with us (my husband was my designated caregiver)
I wanted to be inpatient but it was discouraged by the transplant team because of germs and boredom. I really still wanted to be inpatient so my husband could stay home where he was comfortable and take care of our dogs and our house but went with the recommendation to stay somewhere.
I ended up in the hospital for 6 days due to side effects such as diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration and a fever. I had booked the vrbo for 3 weeks and we had to stay an extra week so while I was in the hospital I had to find another pet friendly vrbo and my husband and our dog had to move our stuff to a new location. Also, it was pricey. My husband is kind and caring but I spent a lot of time being concerned about his health and our dog and taking care of them. I really didn’t have anyone to take care of our dogs or be my caregiver (although my daughter stayed with me the last 5 days in the vrbo so my husband could take our dog to vet appointments and get away and go home)
In hindsight, I wish I would have been inpatient for the entire time especially since our medical insurance would have covered it (or most of it) and I would have been surrounded by caring, knowledgeable, professional caregivers.
Go with your instincts.
I’m home and working on recovering from the transplant. Doing ok other than some aches and pains when I try to exercise and still fatigued but can’t stay asleep at night. My 100 day bone marrow biopsy is November 2 and I will also find out about when I can start receiving vaccines.
I’m grateful and hopeful but I’m also still a bit traumatized by the whole experience.
I am 71 years old and was healthy. A compression fracture on my vertebrae led to the diagnosis of multiple myeloma July 2025.