Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy Birthday to me!! Sorry this is so late, but I had computer woes and it took me all night to sort them out!

So it's a done deal. Almighty Do-over complete. I got two bags of my stem cells back, both through an IV drip. It took about an hour, hour and 15 minutes. About 15 nurses and techs came in and sang to me (actually 3 different times, as there were a couple of late arrivals who rushed in and made everybody do it all again -- too, too cute!) They put balloons on my door and each signed a little hat for me. Lots of hugs and smiles. As you might already have read, this step in the process is rather anticlimactic. Not a whole lot of physical stuff to report. They gave me a mild sedative beforehand to relax me. I did feel a bit cooler during the infusion, as the cells were returned to my body at a temperature cooler than my own internal one. For a while noone smelled anything of me; now, however, I'm getting feedback that I've got a bit of the garlicky/creamed corn stink caused by the preservatives in which the cells have been stored. Apparently it's not too bad, but there does seem to be a little stank goin' on in here!

Lorraine arrived first thing, the sweetheart, with a big bunch of balloons, cupcakes with the number "0" and the gift of an iPod nano.....AND a bunch of really special framed photos we'd thought lost and hadn't seen in 2 of our 3 homes together! (Lorraine found them when she was looking for a photo of her grandmother with one of her nieces.) Getting those pictures back was the best present ever, I can't even tell you. A pic of me as a little girl sitting on Libby's lap in our garden behind Bierer House (the commune in which I was raised in NYC.) Another of her back during WWII during the time when she was stationed in the Phillipines, her sitting on a bale of hay in a really sexy pose looking like a covergirl. A wonderful photo of Louie just after we'd rescued him at 5 months old -- that a black and white of him barking, and taken by a neighborhood kid who was going on to college on a scholarship for photography. There are more.....what bliss to get them back!!!

A few friends visited with me today, and it was GREAT! I had a great time with them! Suzy and her partner Sandy, and Ginger (taking such loving care of our desperately missed Louie) came bearing gifts and lots of great conversation, laughter and love. Tomorrow I should be able to visit with Ginger again, along with her partner Michie. (Yay!)

After Suzy, Sandy and Ginger left, I saw my oncologist walking towards me with a big box in his hands. He came into my room with a big smile on his face, saying, "This came for you....NOW who loves you?!" He even knew abut Mr. Bear's big adventure, which surprised me. He knew that he'd gone missing, but he didn't know that he'd been returned to me...he was impressed that I'd gotten him back, and I was impressed that he knew about any of it. Anyway, I got a beautiful Vermont Teddy Bear from the lovely Tianna from the HD Message Board! She sent me this sassy, satin bustiere-toting playboy bunny bear with a sweet little button on her right hip that named her, "Sarah." How'd you know, Tianna? Man you're too sweet to me, girl. Thank you from the bottom of my shiny, red girl-heart.

In other news, I found out today that Emory's employees are eligible for benefits from their first day on the job, and that they only have to work 20 hours a week to do so. I found a number of jobs for which I'm qualified -- one of them a perfect match and very interesting to me, but alas the timing's a bit off on that one. It definitely gives me hope, though....and something to revisit when the old bod is up and running once again. I feel like I wouldn't have to be as secretive about my recent health problems in the interview process and that I could voice my passion for Emory in positive (and selling) ways. It's such a large organization, between the university and the hospitals and all of their offshoots, there will continue to be plenty of opportunities. So I'm heartened!

Right now I'm finishing up a bagga antibiotics....no infection for me, brother! I didn't walk the halls today, but I did walk in place in and around my room, doing 2500 steps on the pedometer in about a half an hour. It's really important to walk throughout this process to keep you lungs in order and as strong as possible, among many other reasons. Walking prevents pneumonia BIGTIME, which is the real fear of a transplant patient. There's a whole laundry list of reasons why it's important to walk, but the long and the short of it is that the more you do of it, the better you'll do: you'll resist infection, you'll get out of the hospital quicker, you'll heal faster, and you'll recoup your energy sooner. Tomorrow I'll do more. Today I still felt like I was recovering a bit from the previous days' misery.

I'm very happy to have reached this milestone.