I can't remember where I left off in the last post so I'll start with day 4. Day 4 was worse than day 3 but better at the same time because I was only one day away from donating. I didn't go to work and I'm glad. It was a lot more bearable at home. I think around 1pm we left to take Jordan to the airport. First stop, of course, the mall. I agreed because a good lunch was promised afterward. I let them do their thing and went and found a comfortable couch outside of the Apple store where I could get free wi-fi. From the car to the couch I walked like an old man, avoiding grimacing and consentrated on smiling so I didn't frighten the little children. I had contemplated staying in the car but the couch was much more comfortable than the car so I'm glad I went in. After lunch we hit the airport and said goodbye to Jordan. That's another blog in itself. Needless to say it was hard to say goodbye to my little girl for the better part of the coming year.
We arrived in Seattle and checked into the Sorrento hotel which was old but elegant. It had a huge king size bed which proved to be the best part of the room for Dianna because I didn't sleep much that night so hopefully she didn't feel me tossing and turning. My back hurt so bad I just couldn't go to sleep and so I was in and out of bed and the TV was on and off all night. We packed light for the overnight stay but I REALLY wish I would have remembered to bring some nyquil or tylenol PM or something. My bad.
We met Carrie, the donation coordinator and very nice lady, at 7am the next morning for my final shot. After getting the shot Dianna and I had some breakfast at the corner cafe' and then it was go time. I hopped up in the luxurious hospital bed with crunchy sheets and made myself as comfortable as possible. With a pillow under each arm and a bright pink blanket pulled up to my chest I was ready. They stuck a needle in each arm, the right to pull the blood out and the left to pump it back in. It was a weird feeling is all I can say. I could feel clear up in my right shoulder the pump pulling the blood out and in my left could feel the luke warm chill of the blood coming back in. I let Dianna choose the video to watch, hoping that I would be able to fall asleep because I was exhausted. No luck though, so I had the pleasure of watching Eclipse. It was a treat. The machine clicked and spun and in just over 3 hours I was all done. It was like giving blood for a really long time from both arms. Thankfully I didn't have to go to the bathroom while I was strapped in. I was concerned about this because they were pumping me full of IV fluids the whole time, not to mention the orange juice I downed for breakfast. Why the concern you ask? Well, with needles in both arms I would have required a nurse's assistance to go. I tried to convince Dianna to help me but she said there were certain lines that shouldn't be crossed in a relationship and that was one of them. The nurse assured me she was used to it but I assured her I was not. Enough about that. One other thing that was interesting is they were giving me a calcium drip to compensate for what I was losing. Apparantly I was getting too much at one point because my lips started tingling. It was like getting nitrous at the dentist office. A quick adjustment and it went away though.
When I was done I physically felt much better and my spirits were lifted as I watched them weigh and package the stem cell bag which, by the way, looks a lot like tomato soup. They put it in one of those organ coolers for transport and said by the next morning the patient would be receiving it. The nurses there were nice enough to give me a little thank you bag that had a card signed by all of them and a t-shirt and mug. I think there was a candy bar in there but I may have just been hungry and imagined that. Anyway, it was very nice. That afternoon and evening I was tired more than anything and spent it on the couch. With the help of some nyquil I slept very well that night (last night) and woke up pretty much back to normal. I went in to work with no problem and am looking forward to a relaxing night at home to finish recouperating. By tomorrow I expect to be good as new. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to do this and would encourage anyone who reads this to look into being a bone marrow donor if you aren't already. Aside from being the right thing to do, I'm hoping this will earn me a couple of bonus points with the big man upstairs. Heaven knows I could use the extra credit.
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