Ready Or Not

During the week of October 20th the good folks at Stanford gave me the signal that they were ready to start. Finished a host of pre-induction tests and left town on Wednesday night, October 28th.
Bright and early on the 29th, I appeared at the Apheresis center for some initial white cell collection. The Aph. center is a large room in the Cancer Center with maybe a dozen reclining "lazy-boys" around the perimeter. Behind each is a machine the size of a steamship trunk, with names like "Count Suckula," "the Leech,"and "Blood Sucker." Inside each is a spinning drum. It collects my blood and separates the blood cells, dividing red, white and plasma. White cells are the heaviest, they go to the outer perimeter, Voila!
My daughter, Joanna attended. Our nurse was a pro. We were finished by 11:00 or so.
Interviewed Erin Hillier, my assigned Social Worker at the Hospital, had lunch, drove to SF to meet Molly for Dinner, dropped off Jo, took Molly back with me to PA. Ready for Day 2.

Showed up at 8:00 for the pre-vaccine exam. I passed. So they gave me three separate pre-vaccinations: Pneumonia, Tetanus, Diphtheria (I recall). then off to the adjacent building for The Vaccine.
I am led into a largish exam room or a small operating theater--I am not too careful to note the details. Both Dr. Josh Brody, and Dr. Wan Kai Weng (head of the BMT dept.) are there. I am asked to lie down on the table (just for a vaccine injection??) and they proceed to describe the science of the day's events, the reason for the other vaccinations, etc. While one is speaking, two nurses, dressed in full length coveralls, with caps, and masks, wheel in a gurney with two large boxes--one is steaming with dry ice. The nurses look very serious and do not speak. On the gurney are my vaccine and a colossally expensive drug to augment its effects. I am told it was delivered via a tunnel under the hospital.
As one of the docs continues the science lecture, the other disappears behind my field of vision and hunches over the cart. The two nurses are very attentive.
Josh jokes that they will be loading the entire contents of one box into me today. He laughs. The room spins a bit. I laugh. The drama builds while Josh loads a tiny syringe with a total of 5cc's of fluid. He pinches some skin around my groin. Never felt a thing.
End of the session. The nurses watch me for an hour to make sure I don't misbehave. I am good.
We hang at the hospital for a while then go to lunch where I down two glasses of wine to celebrate the day.
Mike (10/30/09)