Yesterday, we had 3 important exit meetings with various members of the medical team to make sure that everyone was on the same page as we leave Seattle.

Blood Transfusion Summary – First, we met with a blood products transfusion RN who made sure we understood the blood types of blood products Michelle would be getting in the near-term and long-term. The reason we needed to meet was because Michelle’s donor cells are a different type (A+) than Michelle (AB+ / universal recipient).  Michelle’s marrow is now making A+ cells but she still has residual AB+ blood cells hanging out in her bloodstream (red blood cells have a life of ~120 days). For now, Michelle will continue to get O+ blood products to make sure she doesn’t have any reaction when she gets transfusions. Down the road, she should be able to get A+ blood products. The interesting thing is that if Michelle had some random emergency and doctors had to type her to see what she would need, they would be really confused because she’d likely have 3 different blood types floating around. The good thing is that they would automatically opt to give her O+ blood to minimize any reaction to any of the antigens in her blood.

Transplant Exit Conference – Our next meeting was with our attending doctor, physician assistant, and nurse. We reviewed meds, complications Michelle had gone through, the latest MRI results and the current state of her choloroma (non-existent), the information our oncologist at home would receive, and any other issues/questions. No major surprises here and it was good to tie up loose ends.

Research Exit Conference – Finally, we met with Dr. Delaney, the Director of Cord Blood Transplants, and her research team. It was good catching up since we hadn’t seen Dr. Delaney for a while. We also got to meet more of her team and take a picture with everyone. Michelle became emotional when we left and thanked the team. Seven months ago, we were scared when we thought about not having a donor for a transplant. Today, Michelle is 96 days post-transplant and is heading home. It’s been a long 7 months and so many people have contributed to saving Michelle’s life, but we feel a special bond with the team that took our life-saving cord blood units, carefully grew one of the units in the lab, tended to those cells (even sang Elvis Costello to them), and carefully prepared both units to be transfused into Michelle. Hah, that actually makes their amazing work sound easy. We may not understand everything they’ve done, but we are certainly grateful.

Aside from these meetings, we’ve just been packing and went to a good Spanish tapas restaurant last night (Seattle happy hours are awesome). Michelle hasn’t felt well the past couple of days, but she’s getting two units of blood right now. Hopefully, that does the trick.

Tonight, Mabel arrives to help us finish up tomorrow and escort Michelle on her return flight.