The day has arrived, otherwise known as Day Zero. After all the chemo and radiation I have had a down energy day today. I figured it was bound to catch up with me, and I was warned today by our team nurse that in a couple of days after the last blast of chemo it is bound to get worse.

Not to dwell on the darkside of this process, today is a day to celebrate the good. My brother Dave successfully produced his donor cells. Here he is with his “cellphie” G-d bless him.

As I am writing these precious cells are on their way, due to arrive in the Seattle metro area about 8:30pm PDT.

At 8pm this evening, I will be admitted to the hospital for my prep to receive these cells. The plan is for me to be hospitalized for 3-weeks +/-.

Sharon and I are so grateful for the texts, emails, and calls we have received today. I plan to report tomorrow on how the evening’s activities progressed and am so thankful to have reached this day.

Larry and Sharon

Today I spent many hours in the clinic. Blood tests, 4-hours of IV hydration as well as an IV antifungal drug, followed by the main event of the day.Total Body Irradiation.

I was in the radiation chamber for one hour. The best analogy I can share with you of the experience is that I felt like I was a rotisserie chicken. They started by placing all kinds of radiation monitors around my person, to make sure the right doses where delivered to the right places.

They turned me onto my left side and from across the room came a buzzing sound and a light. I thought it was an Austin Powers movie with a laser beam. The radiation treatment started at my front side beginning with my head and slowly worked its way down to my toes. Then they turned me around, actually they turned the stretcher bed around, and the same buzz and beam went head to toe on my backside.

When it was over, I asked if I was glowing. The answer back was that they know the patient is done when they begin to turn green like the Hulk.

So I am prepped and ready. My brother is now in the batter’s box and I will be waiting in the ondeck circle. We have not had the exact timing confirmed although were told that tomorrow I will be admitted to the hospital at 8pm. That tells us that the infusion of the new cells will most likely occur between 10pm and midnight. If that happens, my new birthday will be on May 31. Mark your calendars for a party one year from tomorrow.

Larry and Sharon

Inching closer to the big day. Today I spent 7-hours in the infusion suite receiving anti nausea medication, an antibiotic that kills fungi, and two flavors of chemo. A bit heavier today. To make sure my system is hydrated and my kidneys are not on overload, these items were followed by a liter of IV saline fluid. As I have said during the last 3-days, so far so good.

Spending that much time requires some activity. For me mostly video. I started watching the French Open, and found an episode of M*A*S*H. Sharon joined me for my project of watching all the Marvel movies along the Marvel timeline. Today started with “Captain America – The First Avenger.” This was not the first Marvel movie, that would be Iron Man. But this movie took place during WWII so first by historical time. It is very good indeed.

Today I want to recognize Louis Gonzalez. Louis and Deborah have been our friends for decades. The very quick backstory is in 2007 at the CA Int’l Marathon I was bound and determined to run a sub 4-hour marathon. That was a goal of mine since my first Chicago marathon in 2001. Louis agreed to run the final 6-miles with me as my pacer so I would not slow down. It worked. I finished in 3hr 57min. I could not have done that without him. At the time, I was not yet diagnosed with CLL, although after I was, Louis and Deborah were constant supporters.

Fast forward to today, and for several years Louis and Deborah have bicycled around Lake Tahoe as a part of America’s Most Beautiful Ride to raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Deborah;s father had suffered from a blood cancer so the cause is close to all of our hearts.

Louis is raising money as a part of his team. Click here for the link if you would like to donate and support the cause:

Thank you again for your caring and support.

Larry and Sharon

Today was the third day of chemo. I am now midway through the six day countdown. In three days my brother’s cells will be a part of me. So far so good. Luckily I am having minimal side effects at the moment. Although I am told that tomorrow the regime is to add a second much stronger chemo drug, which will require me to stay in the clinic for 4-5 hours of IV hydration. On Tuesday I will receive total body radiation and again I am told the reaction to these agents will certainly take hod.

I have never been a sit on the couch kind of guy. And leading up to this, as well as the last 3 days of chemo I have been walking 3-4 miles per day. The nursing staff was amazed this morning when they asked how I was doing and I said pretty and told them my milage. By the look on their faces, I guess I am not the average bear.

The day before we began chemo we had a nurse explain to use the schedule. And to make sure we understood she mapped it out on a whiteboard as follows:

We have made it to day three. The big date is circled. Where it says “flu” that is not influenza, it is the chemo drug Fludarabine. Mel = Melphalan, which is the heavy drug, and TBI – Total Body Radiation.

Hope you are well.

Larry and Sharon

I spent the morning in the clinic and received my second day of chemo. Two down, two to go followed by total body radiation and then my bone marrow should be like a fertile soil bed, ready to be planted. So far so good. Tomorrow is more of the same and then as I understand the process the therapy becomes stronger with more potential side effects. I am taking this one-hour and one-day at a time.

Last weekend as I mentioned we visited the Amazon Spheres, an indoor terrarium like structure that contains thousands of species of plants from all parts of the world. As we were walking around we were talking to one of the docents who said the day before we arrived an extraordinary event had occurred – the blooming of a corpse flower. We had heard about this but the blooms are so rare and so unpredictable that they are difficult to be in the right place at the right time. Although we are told, when the bloom begins to open the scent is overpowering as in its name. By the time we arrived the scent was gone and the flowers still existed.

Given what I am going through the idea of seeing or even thinking about a corpse flower felt a bit sensitive. The photos that follow show what an amazing bloom these two plants produced.

Hope you are well.

Larry and Sharon