Day 20

Post Matched Unrelated Donor Transplant (MUD)

From: TyChaney@aol.com

Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 17:05:34 -0400

Subject: Day +20 - Ty Chaney

So many feelings, so little words. Just surfacing, I seem to be in the underworld and now and then surface, and wow, the world is still hear. Everything is such an effort. I have not been able to monitor any of the notes, but thought an update may be of interest.

Day 0 was really a spiritual experience, the donor cells where sweet and life giving.

Engraftment came early, I think day +14. Although they just took a Biopsy to have it genetically tested, to determine how much is the donor and mine.

Lots of heavy drugs to manage the imune systems. Working hard to eat, I have a minimum to keep me off TPN. No taste buds at all everything tastes like card board (really!) I think It's the pregnizone, the docs say it's probably all the radiation and chemo and the whole lining will need to rebuild.

They say that I might be able to go to the apartment by the end of the week. I have mixed feelings, still just surviving and weak, but it would be nice to be in my own space, but then I don't want to just end up back in the hospital, that would be worse. I know that this is a roller coaster, each day at a time. I'm really fighting to stay in that mind set. Now and then I have part of a good day, or realize that slowly things are getting better, but then I think well, tomorrow should be better, then slam. Hanging on the wall.

But overall I'm feeling very fortunate, cradled love.

Ty

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