|
Skip,
It's about time they cured you once and for all!
My wife and I had the same "yikes!" reaction to a transplant scheduled sooner than we expected. But we made all the preparations we could. You've got good doctors, a choice of well-matched donors (did they pick one yet?), and from what you've said you've kept yourself otherwise healthy, so you've got everything going for you.
In a way, the practical details of preparing for a transplant are like preparing for an out-of-town vacation. You want to take care of loose ends, make sure other people have what they need while you're away, square things with your employer, and so on.
For the transplant itself, you'll want to know exactly who on your "support team" of family and friends will do what. When people offer to help, I've learned that you shouldn't say thanks but leave it open-ended. It's better to say thanks and give them specific assignments. People who are happy to help need to know what specifically to do, and each time you'll have one less thing to worry about.
During the transplant itself, family support is usually the key, for everything from personal comfort, transportation of people and things, communication with your support team, and advocating for you with the doctors and the hospital. As the patient, you should have only one job: to get through the transplant and to get better.
My wife and I learned that there are good days and bad days, not steady progress from a low point to a cure. You have to notice when a given day is better than the previous day, and appreciate that it happens more and more often as your health improves.
Please let us know how things go as your transplant date approaches.
|