The Morning After (DAY +1)

Secret agent man, secret agent man
They've given you a number and taken away your name

Johnny Rivers

Mornings are my clearest times of the day, before the fatigue and the stomach cramps (nausea and constipation) and the headaches and of course, all the meds get rolling. so I will post this AM about yesterday PM. 

Late last night, (my new birth day), while my family ran off to the Spaghetti Warehouse for a meal,  after "watching and waiting" for the magic moment of the first stem cells reaching the PICC line in my left bicep, I was still getting infused with my own special marinara sauce (well it sure looks likes that),  a life elixir that almost didn't make here on time. The courier's flight out of LAX to the secret lair of the donor missed its connection resulting  in a full day late arrival. On the trip back they always have a back up flight in case there is a problem with the first plane.  My tired and jet lagged but very experienced courier personally  commandeered this vital project as it was not part of the routine bone marrow registry, and foreign countries can be sticky about what crosses their borders. She arrived armed with official papers from City of Hope and the ready verbal threat to the airport security that any delay would make them responsible for costing a life, and she thus negotiated the customs and security with no problem. Her flight left on time, and then a computer glitch send it back to the airport of origin, arriving after her back up flight had already left. Fortunately, my savvy and charming courier had talked with the pilot of the life and death nature of her economy ticket,  and he arranged for her to get on the next flight out, so my special sauce arrived late, but well within the safety window. My infusion started at 6:15 PM and ended 3 hours later. I felt kinda tingly and had a terrible headache and a great sense of gratitude and enthusiasm for  a journey begun.