We're off to Stanford to begin the process of Paul's transplant on December 12. Today, he'll be hospitalized overnight after getting a strong chemo (BCNU) that will almost wipe out most of his fast-growing cells. They’ll keep Paul overnight In order to watch for any signs of cardiac or pulmonary problems. Then begins our long stay at an apartment near Stanford. If all goes well, on Sunday Paul will get another chemo (Melaphalan) that will finish whatever is left over. On Tuesday December 12, Paul gets his transplant when they'll infuse what they collected during harvesting. It's pretty amazing that Paul's entire life-blood (literally) is in a plastic bag that they collected a couple weeks ago. After the transplant, the fairly lengthy process of engraftment begins -- waiting for the re-introduced cells to take hold and proliferate.

Paul might get a little sick, a lot sick or barely sick at all during this process. It's also possible if he has a fever or infection which several transplant patients do, then he'll have to go to the emergency room and possibly stay at the hospital in isolation. We'll try to keep you posted here on our blog.

Rainbow over Nambung National Park, Western Australia