October 30, 2009 10:30 PM

Saying goodbyes!

As the yearly anniversaries now begin to occur almost daily, it was a year ago that I went to the office for the last time to say my goodbyes and give my fellow employees the opportunity to wish me well.

As I think back on that day, I recall that, truthfully, I was in a kind of a fog. I had a doctor's appointment the next day at Dana-Farber but I had no idea what my schedule would be for entering the hospital or how the treatment process was handled. I only knew that chemo-therapy was the next step and, like most of you, I only knew it to be a pretty rugged road to travel - to the point that, sometimes, you never even reach the end of the road! Now, when I look back on it - I was such a novice. I knew nothing about what was going to happen to me!

The people at work were very kind, upbeat, and positive. Those that had first or second hand leukemia stories told me the positive ones and how things worked out so well for the cancer victims. They wished me well and continued to do so by periodically sending me cards over the months since that time.

Of course, none of us knew if that would be the last goodbye or not. As it turns out, it was a last goodbye for a number of us as layoffs have trimmed the staff way down. Thankfully it was not a last goodbye on my part.

In my ignorance, I passed on what I knew about the my proposed recovery timeframe which was estimated to be the beginning of May! That was quickly corrected the next day when my Dana-Farber doctor said that a bone marrow transplant took you out of commission for a whole year from the date of the transplant! However, that presumes that a bone marrow transplant takes place and that is not a given even though it is part of the desired treatment regimen - they have to locate a compatible donor! Could one be found for me?

So, I left the office after a few hours and came home to await going to Dana-Farber for the first time the next day. Now it seems like a home away from home for us. We know so many of the staff and, everytime we visit, we swap stories of the things going on in our lives. But at that point I only knew that I, for the first time, would be getting the detailed plan of attack on how they intended to tackle my disease.

Needless to say I was very nervous. But it was now in God's hands. There was nothing that I could personally do to change the situation. Phone calls kept coming in from friends and acquaintances and that tenede to fill up the rest of the day.

With nothing else to do, I set myself to enjoying (probably not the right word!) the remaining days (hours?) until I was admitted to the hospital...

Bob