For a Stem Cell Transplant, they call the day you receive your new stem cells—the “transplant” day—day 0. The days of preparation, chemo, radiation, and so on leading up to day 0 are negative numbers counting down to 0, and the days afterward are positive, counting up through your recovery.

Today, I am ten days from transplant day. A whole lot is going to happen between now and then, and it really kicked into high gear today. We made our temporary move to a different part of the state to be near the hospital. Even after I’m discharged, I’m required to stay near the transplant hospital for at least a month or two. That means we will probably be living here for anywhere from two and a half months to four months. That’s a long time to be away from home.

For at least the next month, and likely a bit longer, I won’t be able to see our dog, Jade, which is one of the hardest things for me, personally. She’s staying with my in-laws, and will come visit my wife from time to time. I miss her already. Saying goodbye to her today was heartbreaking.

On Tuesday, day -8, I will have my pre-admission blood labs and consultation, and on Wednesday, day -7, I will have a central line placement and official admission to the hospital. (If you don’t know what a central line is—it’s terrifying. I’m sure I’ll write about it in the coming days.)

My hope is to update this blog daily with how the process is going. Days -6 through -1 are a lot of chemo and radiation treatments to kill off what’s left of my traitorous, malfunctioning marrow. I have some other, non-transplant related topics I hope to write about during that time as well.

The journey begins.