Help With Sarah's Stem Cell Transplant

As many of you know I was diagnosed with stage 3 lymphoma last spring. My official diagnosis and treatment plan were given to me the same day Governor Cuomo shut the city down. I went through 18 weeks of chemo, but there were still some cancer cells that just didn’t go away. The doctor hoped that the residual chemo in my body would do the trick. Unfortunately, I have a very aggressive lymphoma and it started to grow back. So here we go again.

I first needed to have surgery to get a biopsy. The tumors are in my pelvis, next to my spine, and difficult to reach with a needle. This was to double check that it is in fact still lymphoma. And it is. The new treatment is a more aggressive chemo, and then a stem cell transplant. I’m halfway through these rounds of chemo. This time it’s for 6 weeks.

I met with my transplant doctor and NP last week. It's all very overwhelming. There's a lot that has to happen before the transplant. Tests, injections, various medicines, I have to get an oral exam, a PET scan, and then they can start harvesting my stem cells. If everything goes well that should happen the first week of January. I will then be admitted to the hospital towards the end of January for 3-4 weeks. The first 6 days they will be giving me a crazy strong chemo to kill off all my bone marrow and white blood cells. I will then get my stem cells transplanted back into me. It sounds like a science fiction story. The first 10 days I am told I will mostly just be bored. Then I'm not going to feel so good. My white blood cells will go down to zero, and then slowly go back up.

As of right now, due to covid, I will be allowed 1 designated visitor. They can visit for 4 hours a day. Because of Everett’s job, it makes most sense for that person to be my sister, Rebecca. I am very lucky that she is able to come and be with me. She is looking into getting an Airbnb near the hospital. There is a possibility that this policy will change depending if the virus keeps getting worse. Or hopefully better.

The recovery afterwards takes approximately 6 months. They gave me a book with all the dos and don’ts. There are a lot of don’ts. We are still processing it all. The good news is that everyone is already wearing masks and washing their hands. So that part is covered.

Many of you keep on asking what you can do. Thank you so much. With the stem cell transplant, the types of gifts I can receive during and for at least six months afterwards is extremely limited. My diet will be very restrictive, and I can't have any flowers or plants. And no visitors at least while I'm in the hospital. With Covid, who knows what will happen afterwards.

To limit my sister’s exposure to Covid, Rebecca has decided to stay near the hospital. I will be at NYU Langone in Manhattan. What would help us during this time is if you could contribute to her stay, plus some other things I will need to make my hospital stay and recovery more comfortable. If you feel compelled to give a gift, please consider contributing to this fund instead. Anything we don’t use will then be donated to cancer research.

Alternatively, if this feels awkward (it feels awkward to ask, especially with so many people in need right now), please give to your preferred charity with what you would spend on a gift for me.

Thank you so much for all the support these past 9 months. You all give me so much strength.
Love, Sarah