The Plan

When Alyssa and I created this blog last winter, we thought the Milladore Transplants title was catchy because it included the fact that our family as a whole was being temporarily transplanted to Minneapolis; we never dreamed that the stem cell transplant would also become plural. But it will. Very Soon.
I left home yesterday at 5:00 a.m. and headed for Eau Claire to pick up Karl and Alissa Diane. (Mapquest is wrong. Is is NOT faster to take Hwy 29.) We left Eau Claire right on schedule. Since schedules are rarely kept in our family, that in itself is worth note. At any rate, we arrived at the BMT Clinic where we were to meet Evan, who had been in Minneapolis since Tuesday for his preliminary work up (tests, tests and more tests). While I went in with Evan to meet with his nurse case manager, Karl was started on his own adventure of testing, BMT-style.
It was calendar day. The actual transplant date is day zero. Any day that is part of the transplant procedure, but before the actual transplant day is referred to as day minus-five, etc. At any rate, Evan will return next week Mon - Wed for more tests and consultations and be home for the weekend. Like this weekend, he will use that time to head north for a weekend of bear hunting. On Monday, July 20th, he will be admitted to the hospital to begin the transplant process. He will once again undergo 5 days of chemotherapy before the transplant. Unlike the last time, he will also have radiation before the transplant. While Evan undergoes chemo, Karl will begin his part. He will receive a growth factor hormone injection every day for 5 days to increase the stem cell production in his bone marrow and force those stem cells into his blood stream so they can be collected through the blood. On the 5th day, the stem cells will be collected. Evan will receive the cells the same day they are collected. Depending on how many cells can be collected from Karl in one 5-hour session (5 million are needed), that may happen for as many as three days, although we got the impression that two days will probably do it. At that point, Karl's part will be finished and Evan will begin his long road to rebuilding his immune system. Evan can expect to be in the hospital for as long as 30 days, and in Minneapolis for 100 days post-transplant. As his nurse said yesterday, "This time we're really keeping you here for 100 days," which certainly implies there will be no early release -- good behavior or not.
Karl finished all of his testing, consultations and exams by early afternoon yesterday. We weren't able to see Alyssa at all, but we're going to have lots and lots of opportunities for that over the next four months as we once again set up camp in her cute apartment. I was thrilled to be able to get out of the city before the afternoon rush hour began. We made a quick stop at Trader Joe's in Woodbury, which Karl and Alissa seemed to like as much as I do, and headed to Eau Claire. Interesting thing at TJ's: My main purpose in stopping was to buy a couple of kinds of wine to audition for Kit and Violet's wedding reception here next summer. While in the liquor section, Karl found a few beers he wanted to try. And so we have evolved from him receiving a nice sticker for bravery at the doctor's office to getting a six-pack. How times change!
At any rate, I was home again by 7 last night to find Evan packing up for his weekend of hunting and Ned firmly planted on the couch with his leg elevated on pillows as he recovers from Thursday's surgery to insert 3 screws in his ankle to mend the fracture he suffered 3 weeks ago.
All in all, Evan and Ned both will have lost most of their summer to medical procedures this year. But yesterday was a good day for the Ruesch medical compound, we just need about 110 more!