Good morning, @jstpeachey! Nothing makes me happier as a mentor for Connect than to learn that I’ve succeeded in helping to calm the fears and offer hope to someone heading to bone marrow transplant. I didn’t have anyone to talk with about their experience. My doctors and nurses were amazing but unless you’ve walked that walk, you can’t possibly know what it all feels like.

I learned the value of first hand information when I was waiting in the lab area to be called for blood work. Up until about 1.5 months I was in a private area daily for blood draws along with infusions. After that I was back in general population. Feeling pretty low, I wondered if I’d ever start feeling or looking healthy again. (I had a allogenic transplant). What infused me with hope was a random meeting with 2 previously transplanted patients. One celebrated their 2nd anniversary, the other his 5th. Those 2 people had an impact on me that they’ll never know! But at that moment I learned how important it is to give others hope. ☺️
Actually, few months ago there was a little article the editors at Mayo put together about that experience which inspired me to help others. One of whom is this young woman, Sky who had a bone marrow transplant after her similar AML journey. Here’s the story if you’d like to read it. https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/about-connect/newsfeed-post/mayo-clinic-connect-brings-together-2-women-with-leukemia-46-years-apart/

Best wishes as you go forward tomorrow! ☺️