Success!

Just returned from my afternoon session at Stanford. It is now official -- I am getting better and will be able to cut down on my visits to the outpatient clinic to three times a week!  I'll have to exercise more (walking), do breathing exercises to keep the lungs clear, eat, and drink about 60 ounces of fluid a day (can be water, Gatorade, soy milk, juices, etc.) in order to maintain this status but I'm up for the challenge. My numbers are holding steady and my body/mouth is slowly healing.

One back note - probably should have had this on one of the early entries.  I named the blog "Like a Rock" because when I was first treated at Kaiser on Morse people would ask how I feel and I'd say like a rock!  Then it became "I am a rock"...and then "I'm a rock - this thing can't beat me"....anyway, some people thought that was a little too premature and even a little too optimistic but I believed in it and it was fun.  So, sometime during this time I received a card from the sweetest of all people, Joannie, and lo and behold it was about the rock!  Joannie, still have the card and I still think I'm a Rock!

I'm Free!

On Monday I was released from the Stanford BMT Unit and allowed to go to my apartment just minutes from the Stanford BMT Outpatient Clinic.  It was hairy for a week or two. Literally had a mouth full of sores, blood and saliva....man, I was hating! Then it slowly started to get better. My last days as an inpatient I ate and drank just enough for them to let me leave.  So far I have been very lucky going through this process....oh, believe me, I have felt misery but always a misery I thought was going to leave me sometime soon. As of today I am eating and drinking almost at will and able to do solid walks. Sleeping in your "own" bed and eating "home" cooked meals does wonders for the body and spirit.  My brother, Henry (the donor) and my girlfriend, Andrea have been excellent support. Just tear up thinking of all their sacrifices. My other brother leaves his wife and kids for a week to help out here starting in late May.  Friends have meant a lot.  Hearing certain voices just infuses me with strength. 
Those two beautiful lawyers that strolled through here the other day did wonders for the soul...cards, text messages, emails keep me afloat...Seongsook's cards and all the well wishing from the incredible people at DMH have been so fun and exciting!  Well, I'm gonna stop right now before I start bawling....highly sensitive these days....Anyway, I am good and getting better.  

The bedroom! We actually attached the beds...although when the bro stays they may go back to doubles.

Here's the main room.  No cable and slow internet...however Kaiser reimburses the total cost so overall the place aint bad.