Today consisted of psychological interviews, Naomi’s infusion of the antifungal, and a CBC that showed her at 0 ANC.  Naomi found some of the questions during the psych evaluation absurd.  I wasn’t in the room, but according to her when asked “why do you want a transplant?”  she said, “That’s a weird question.  I don’t WANT a transplant.  I NEED a transplant!”  Micayah had his pre-op meeting to review his harvesting procedure.  It will take place on Monday 3/6 at 1pm Central.  He is expected to be in recovery until 4/5pm.  Naomi will receive his cells on Tuesday 3/7.

We also toured the inpatient hospital rooms where she will be admitted Monday.  The rooms are quite agreeable to us.  They are very welcoming and colorful, more like a bedroom and less like a hospital room.  They are positive pressure rooms and offer privacy, space and comfort.  Prior to admittance on Monday she will have day surgery in the CT/ultrasound area to install a new access line.  She is completely without a line this weekend and we have no scheduled appointments until Monday AM.  We will just be resting and relaxing all weekend.  The Ronald McDonald House had us on a waiting list for a suite and we were able to move rooms today.  So we are now in a long term suite which is like a small apartment.  Our kitchen area is more private as well.  I am getting anxious to get to a grocery store.  I have not been able to get there this week due to juggling appointments for both kids.

Some downtime this weekend is much needed as we prepare for chemo next week – this week has been a whirlwind.  I hear that it was an in-house record for arrival to CHW and getting to transplant.  It took 4 clinic days to get all pre-transplant evaluations and paperwork complete and conditioning will begin just 8 days after arriving here.  Everyone here has been as organized and on the ball as I’ve ever seen a medical center. Also the cleanliness here is remarkable, both at the hospital and in the RMH. Very impressive. 

Today was a cold, rainy, and cloudy day.  We actually didn’t take any photos at all.  The highlight of our day was moving into the new suite and checking out of the old room.  Also, getting her PICC line removed so that she doesn’t need any infusions or medical care this weekend.  We were also very excited to learn that our case manager at Aetna was changed so that we have the same one as last transplant.  She was thorough, organized and prompt – so we requested her again.  Our BMT coordinator said she wishes every case manager was as good as ours.  I am thankful to have her back!