May 20, 2010: It is day +2 post transplant. I have a slight nausea and a persistent headache that is more annoying than debilitating. I am consuming about 30 pills a day and god only knows what they are doing. I drink about three liters of liquids per day and most of them taste pretty crummy because of the chemical taste in my mouth. Needless to say, I’m spending a lot of time peeing and washing my hands. My skin is very sensitive.

Bonnie told her side of the transplant story yesterday. She left out a few salient facts from my point of view. First, on transplant day, I began with 18 minutes of radiation. By minute 17, I was sweating as if I was in a sauna. I had to stand throughout and nearly collapsed. They had to stop the bombardment and bring me a chair and a fan so I could recover enough to stand for the last minute. Then they rolled me out in a wheelchair. It was no walk in the park. This was total body irradiation, which means I got zapped in places where, for me, the sun don’t normally shine. Last night it felt like sunburn in those especially sensitive locations. A gift that keeps on giving.

I don’t remember much of the infusion. I was out of it. Now everyone tells me I smell like creamed corn (because of the DMSO preservative they put in with the cells). I can’t smell it though. I’d like to get just one whiff to know what they are talking about. It’s a little embarrassing running around smelling like creamed corn. They say it will go away soon. That’s fortunate. I don’t even like creamed corn.

There was a big up yesterday when I woke from one of my many naps. Mimi was on video chat. I sat down in front of the computer and she came running toward it, saying “Baabee” or something close. She recognized me, remembered my name and was happy to see me. It makes going through this worth it.