Update - it's been 12 days since the transplant of my sister's bone marrow/stem cells and I'm still feeling pretty good. Have had mild nausea twice in the past week (but immediately controlled by medication) and minor headaches/body aches, but overall, no major side effects. My platelets have been coming back strong (138 today which is just shy of normal range of 140-440). My white cells also are coming back well at 1.0 (was 0.5 just a week ago and normal is 4.1-10.9), but my ANC, or Absolute Neutropenic Count, the real "how well I fight off infections" is down at 0.16, with normal 4.2-6.3.

So - normally they like the ANC to have started recovery, but with everything else coming in strong, as long as there are no complications, we're planning on me being able to go home THIS Friday! Now, once I get home, I'll still be in isolation in my bedroom, but at least it will be at home and not here in the hospital.

Twice a week, a nurse will come out and draw blood for them to check that I'm still doing well, and if I get a fever or other symptoms, I may need to be readmitted. I'll also come back occasionally for clinic visits with my doctor to talk through status and stuff.

Dan and the kids have been cleaning the house, especially the bedroom, and Dan changed out the air filters in the house. The dogs are going to be kept downstairs only - and when I go from car to bedroom, they'll be out on the patio for now. When my numbers recover a bit, I can visit them for short periods while wearing a breathing mask, and then immediately wash my hands when I get back in the room. Seeing the kids will be easier, but again - if they mention they've been around anyone sick at school, it will be just chatting via phone like we do now.

A big part of the difference between my recovery this time and when I did the transplant with my own cells four years ago (an autologous SCT) is that due to potential host-graph rejection issues, I'll be on anti-rejection drugs for a while. These drugs suppress the immune system so where as last time, my immune system came back before my body did (I was really weak from the heavy chemo last time) - well, this time, my body feels great and I have energy, but for a long time, I won't have an immune system strong enough to do everyday things.

It's a tradeoff - but the payoff is if all goes well, Mary's cells won't just keep me in remission, but could actually cure the Mantle Cell Lymphoma so it never comes back.

In other news, really hopeful with the Supreme Court cases and have been very touched by all of the people who have been showing red profiles. Ya - it's not going to influence the justices, but it DOES show support and that is always a good thing.

Hopefully, the next update will be from home - catch ya all later!