My first day

Today was my first day at the clinic. In order to do the stem cell transplant, I need to undergo a bunch of tests to make sure I am healthy enough for the procedure. This morning, Tom and I got up early and went into Atlanta. It was a 1.25 hour drive, but took 1.5 hours because of traffic. The first thing I had to do was have blood drawn. They took 14 vials, which ended up being about a half a pint.

Next, they did an EKG. They put a bunch of stickers on me and hooked me up to a machine. Then they told me to stay still while they did the test. Do you have any idea how hard it is to stay completey still under pressure? They ended up having to do the test again because they said the first one looked like I was in the middle of a war zone.

Next was the chest x-ray. That one was a breeze.

The last thing I had to was undergo the education for the self injections. I need to have neuprogen shots twice a day for 5 days. They taught me to fill the syringe and give myself the shot. It looks daunting... After the video and the consultation, we went into the room where people donate blood and plasma for the cancer patients. The nurse kept pointing out how happy the donors were, and how everyone was smiling and no one was in pain. I got to see the machine they will use to separate the stem cells from my blood (they will not be puncturing my bones to harvest the stem cells - they only do that in certain cases now that they can grow the stem cells in the blood with the neuprogen.) - it's pretty amazing how medical technology has evolved.

That was it for today - tomorrow we will all go to Tom's appointment to talk with the doctor. I will meet the doctor tomorrow for the first time.