Insurace Approval!

Met with Dr. Holmberg today and she let me know Aetna is going to approve the Tandem transplant! Cross this off my worry list... Also found out the cancer isn't in my bone marrow which is good.

So, I'm due to get my first transplant a week from today. I get my chemo this Sunday, come home, hook up to a hydration pump for 24 hours then go to the clinic the next day to get 1/3 of my stem cells back so I can recover. The only worry right now is making sure the Melphalan (first chemo) works. If my cancer happens to progress through the first transplant, I'll get kicked off the trial, not good... That said, I feel confident and hopeful that this first transplant will do what it's supposed to do, kill Hodgkins cells! Like I told Dr. Holmberg, each treatment is getting me closer to remission. It's just taking me longer than most to get there!

The rest of the week I'll be busy getting ready for the transplant. Gonna go to Costco and load up on frozen meals (don't have to worry about food bacteria). Also have to do a deep clean on my place anti-bacterializing (is that a real word?) everything. I'm also looking to get a hepa filter to kill any airborn germs. Kinda scary going into this knowing it's the beginning of flu season, yikes! I just need to be super careful to avoid any situation that will expose me to germs or viruses. Like I said before, I'm just going to turn into a hermit and stay home as much as possible. This is actually the rationalle of SCCA doing transplants on an outpatient basis. My doc says hospitals are where you're going to find the most exotic germs and viruses. So, hopefully I won't get sick and can avoid the hospital. I still will have to go to the clinic everyday for bloodwork and most likely blood transfusions. Realistically however, I know there's a good chance I'll have to be hospitalized at some point for infection (most likely my second transplant) but will worry about that if and when it happens.

I just want to finish by saying how thankful I am that I have this opportunity to fight for a cure. I'm thankful for my former employer Barnes for offering quality health insurance like Aetna. I'm also thankful that I live in America and have a chance to be treated with modern medicine. I'm thankful that I have such a loving and caring girlfriend who has been such a rock for me through these extremely difficult times. I'm thankful that I have such supportive and loving friends and family.

I can't wait to "pay it back" by getting better and God willing being cured...