The Sun is OUT!!!

Okay. This is not only to get you guys informed as to the latest but to help me get my thoughts straight.

I found out today that if I decide to go to MD Anderson for my transplant, my insurance will not cover anything I had done at Vanderbilt. If I decide to go to Vanderbilt for my transplant, nothing I have done at MD Anderson will be covered. I'll deal with that later.

I got a call from Vanderbilt this morning (they obviously don't know I'm going to MD Anderson for a second opinion). They gave me a list of things I have to take care of before my second evaluation. Go to the dentist to make sure I have no infections, get my last gyno reports, get a colonoscopy (oh boy!). She also told me they would be checking for illegal drug use, prescription drugs that I don't have a script for, alcohol and nicotine. hmmmm. I will talk to a Social Worker about where I will be staying for the 100 days (other than the hospital) and a Financial Counselor so I can turn over all my worldly possessions. = ) My next evaluation will take 2-3 days as an out-patient. Oh! and more chemo before I go. (Which I was suppose to start last Monday only I decided to check out MD Anderson first.)

Also, MD Anderson called this morning and I have an appointment for next Tuesday (the 12th). 9:00 - New Patient Registration. 10:00 - Dr. Parmar, 11:00 - Transplant coordinator. We've decided to drive to Houston on Monday (10 hours) and back on Wednesday. I decided to just go for the consultation and no tests because of insurance and my main concern is to see how comfortable I am there and if I like the doctor. If I decide to go to MD Anderson they can use my MUGA & PFT from Vanderbilt so I won't have to repeat those tests. I will have to have a bone marrow biopsy, blood work and either a CT Scan, MRI or PET.

Whew. So much information!

So, I had a bit of a meltdown yesterday (probably becuz we've had no sunshine in weeks!) and went to talk to my Peggy. While there, I met with a Nurse Practitioner that co-ordinated transplants at Baptist for 8 years. She was very encouraging in telling me that an exact match is VERY hard to come by and a 4 out of 6 point match transplant is common. Mine is a 6 out of 6 match. That makes me a MUD. Matched Unrelated Donor. So, there's no confusion, I'm having an Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant. That means I use an unrelated donor. An Autologous transplant is where you harvest and use your own cells. With that you don't have Graft Vs. Host Disease (GVHD). GVHD is what can cause most of my problems. With a 6 point match, my chances are better. I will get GVHD no matter what. The severity is what is scary. Main problems it can cause are the donors cells attack my skin, mouth, liver, eyes...really any of my organs.

So...I decided to go to a therapist to help me get thru this and my insurance company sent me 4 PAGES of names. sheesh. another decision!

Had lunch with Mir today. She is a great cheerleader! "Call them NOW!" I got a lot taken care of. Thanks, Mir!!!

The only thing I have left to do today is I'm waiting for Dr. Weeks to call me back. Have a few questions for him and decide on a therapist. I am so freakin WIRED!!!

Love you all!