To my mind,
spending time with my family at the Mayo Clinic was a period of lasting
importance to me. Knowing that this was
where my dad and a team of professionals would make a stand against his cancer
made this place one of immense importance to me.
Upon arriving at
the Mayo, it did not take me too long to realize that things were going to go
well for us at this Mecca of medicine. Having
already personally experienced care for injuries at several different hospitals
in my lifetime, I can tell rather quickly what level of care a specific
institution is offering its patients.
This sense of quality comes from years of experience with sports injuries
which tended to be magnified by the intense level of competition I played in.
I could almost
instantly feel that the quality of care at the Mayo Clinic was second to none. From the first time that my parents went down
to Rochester I felt very comfortable with dad receiving cancer treatments there. In my mind, everyone working at the Mayo
Clinic appeared to personify professionalism, care, and dedication to their
jobs.
Receiving this
type of quality care really was a boon to the family's collective constitution
after learning of dad's diagnosis. All
of these positive aspects seemed to calm my parent's nerves and make the whole experience
of going down to Rochester almost enjoyable for us.
Fortunately, for
our group dad did not have to spend too much time down in Rochester during his preliminary
medical screenings. Living in the state
of Minnesota really helped us out in this regard because we did not have to
travel great distances to and from appointments. The Mayo Clinic also re-arranged my father's
treatment schedule, so we did not have to stay so many extra days down in Rochester
before dad's stem cell transplant.
Naturally, the
most amazing episode of this whole experience for me was dad's stem cell
transplant. Since his treatment had been
moved back a few weeks; this is normal when dealing with a high volume of transplant
patients, our transplant day was moved to November 1st.
On this fateful
day our group arrived extra early; 5:15 a.m., in accordance with transplant
procedures. The transplant process
itself was going to be quite slow since it would take several hours for all of
his stem cells to completely absorb into his system.
I learned that
the stem cells themselves are kept in frozen containers until the day of the transplant. On the transplant day they are removed from
their frozen containers and carefully soften into liquid form through a process
of liquefaction. This process takes
several minutes as one nurse works on warming up the stem cells and another
tends to the verification of the donor / host.
Being able to
witness this awesome moment of rebirth truly was a special one for me. The three of us were truly excited by the air
of anticipation collectively felt by all upon receiving the first of three transplants. This long day spent in the hospital truly was
one of transcendent power which seemed to impart on all of us the sense that
although the future was uncertain there was now a sense of hope for the future.
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