"The Business"

Well, my mom has "The Cancer." And because of this, I have to do "The Business." And when I think about doing "The Business," I get "The Diarrhea." Now, let me tell you about these three terms. . .

"The Cancer": Obviously, my mom has cancer. This is the third time she has been diagnosed with cancer - which pretty much stinks, but it is what it is. This time she has some type of leukemia, which was actually caused from the chemo and radiation from the previous cancers. I use this term simply because my mom refers to cancer as . . . "The Cancer," and that is if she even admits she has it at all.


"The Business": So, my mom needs a bone marrow transplant and the whole process of determining who was the donor was pretty crazy. It consisted of many blood samples, which I HATE, and many delays. First, it was going to be my aunt - but then my mom's blast cell count was too high (I have no idea what blast cells are - but I guess they aren't good.) So, my mom started chemotherapy to reduce the blast cells. Then the doctor actually got back results from all the blood tests Becky and I had done and found that I was a better match. So we proceeded to plan the procedure with me as the donor - but then I found out that I was randomly pregnant. Elation. Then, as my principal would say, the pregnancy didn't work out. Despair. So, we now seem to be finally arriving at the point where we thought we were 6 months ago. "The transplant" seems a bit overly dramatic for a bone marrow transplant -- I mean it's not like I am donating my heart or something - so I have decided to instead call it "The Business."

"The Diarrhea": (Frankly, I am uncomfortable talking about "The Diarrhea" on a blog, but I can't just throw that term out there and then ignore that I said it.) This should not need much explanation, but if you have ever gotten bad news and had to run to the bathroom immediately -- then you also have had "The Diarrhea." I feel like this when I think about "The Business" because I am scared to watch my mom's energy deplete from what it is now -- which is much more that A LOT to what it will be after one week of intense chemo before the transplant. And I am scared that I am not emotionally strong enough to be the one to take care of her for three weeks after the transplant. Anyway, I believe "The Diarrhea" is a genetic problem - some strand of DNA that my mom and I share - which may be why I was chosen to do "The Business."

So - "The Business" is happening on January 29th barring no further complications, which would be determined Jan. 5th and 6th when we go in for our final testing. And, because life is what it is, my husband will be leaving for boot camp on Jan. 11th and not returning until sometime in April. Welcome to my world . . . stay tuned for the chaos to come.