Work-up Week

This week was our first week in Minneapolis and it's what they call the 'work-up week'. I spent the week going to appointments and check-ups as a part of the pre-transplant protocol. Here's how it went:

Sunday: My mom and I left KC around 9 am and made the drive to Minneapolis. We arrived at the Ronald McDonald House around 5 pm and got a quick tour of the house. This place is huge! There are four floors, four kitchens, four "houses" (wings), several play rooms, an indoor basketball court, a workout room, several fire places, several living rooms, a scrap booking room, movie theatre, arcade room, etc. Our room is in house one and it's basically like a hotel room. There are two levels, on the first floor there's a living area with two beds, a bathroom, a closet and desk/tv area. The second level is actually a loft with a spiral staircase and two beds. I've claimed the loft as my own. Every night someone caters a dinner for everyone living in the house. It's really nice here and everybody is very friendly.

Monday: Monday was my first day of appointments. I first went to the Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Clinic so that I could get some labs done and meet with one of my doctors. Then I had appointments to get chest x-rays done and to get an EKG done.

Tuesday: I had appointments in the morning to get a ferriscan done and a pulmonary function test done. Then my mom and I went to the Mall of America and ate at Bubba Gump (one of my favorites) for lunch. Afterwards we did some shopping and I spent tons at H&M. I bought several hats to wear when I lose my hair.

Wednesday: In the morning I had a consultation for my surgery to get a hickman put it. For those who have seen my port (the scar on my chest), a hickman is very similar. I have to get surgery to get it placed and then it will sit on the left side of my chest and it will be used for getting medicines and blood throughout transplant. The surgery is kinda freaky so I won't explain the process. Thankfully I can get it removed in a few months and it won't leave a scar like my port. Then after the consultation I had an appointment to get an echocardiogram and then I had an appointment to get sedated and have another Bone Marrow biopsy. Needless to say, I spent the rest of the day in bed with a sore hip.

Thursday: This was my last day of appointments. I first met with a hematologist, then had a consultation to prepare me for radiation and then I had another meeting with one of my doctors. We went over the test results from the week- so far it looks like everything that needs to be normal for transplant (heart, lungs etc) came back normal. Meaning there isn't anything that would stop me from getting my transplant. They also set the date for starting. Looks like I will be admitted into the hospital on tuesday to get my hickman put in and to start chemo. That starts the ten day countdown. Meaning transplant day would be December 18th, a week before christmas!

Friday: Today I slept. All day. It was wonderful. I was exhausted from our long week so I basically laid around and acted lazy all day. I checked out the scrap booking room and got some cool stuff to start working on for my scrap book. I also got my first package in the mail! It came from my nurse (Cathy) back in KC. Cathy and another nurse, Teressa, sent me a box with magazines, crossword puzzles, a shirt with the Empire State Building on it and a tin of popcorn with NYC on it. They're setting the bar very high for future presents. :)

Saturday: Today my mother woke me up at the ungodly time of 10:30 am. We went to Noodles & Company for lunch and then explored the college town. As much as I dislike Minneapolis, the college town is kinda cool. The Ronald McDonald house is on campus so I get to see people close to my age a lot and it was cool to see where they hang out. In the afternoon I made christmas funfetti cupcakes and put out like 20 of them for the other residents to eat. They were gone the next morning. For dinner we went to a bar type place that is known for their subs. My mom tried a sub and it was pretty good. I still prefer Jimmy Johns when it comes to sandwiches.

Sunday: Today I slept in again and went to the Mall of America to shop. I got tons of stuff at sephora and mac. Then we went to this awesome italian place for dinner. I even got tiramisu (my favorite) for desert. Tonight I will be doing laundry and starting to pack up my things to move from the Ronald McDonald house over to the hospital. Tomorrow is my last day before I start chemo.

**Reason of the day: On Saturday I was in one of the kitchens making cupcakes while watching some of the little kids play. One of the kids (a post-transplant boy who gets to go home in about a week) was upset because one of the girls had stolen some of his Monopoly money. It humored me to see that a little boy who has been through SO MUCH can still get upset over normal little kid things. Non-jaded (yes, I realize this isn't a word) boys are always a reason to smile (RTS)**