Change of donor

First, I appreciate all the great comments. If it wasn't clear, comments are welcome! They are a nice addition to a day full of pokes and prods and scans. But mostly I'm past all the testing and today was just a great sunny day in Seattle, and we took a memorial walk in Lincoln Park, in West Seattle. The "memorial" part was in tracing our steps of 2 years ago when I was so low on red blood cells (after my first transplant) that I just about collapsed trying to climb back up the hill, but this time it was a breeze.

Today we learned that my donor did not pass the physical exam, and is ineligible to donate. We knew this was a possibility, and fortunately, I had 3 very good matches from the start, so the process has started to check on the second donor. These things happen, and it will delay the start of the procedure to perhaps the middle of March, but again, I can't be anything but thankful to these donors willing to inconvenience themselves like this.

So, as soon as my work computer is fixed, we will move back home for maybe a couple of weeks, and wait for a new schedule.

The most interesting technical news is that I seem to have an alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency which has caused some lung damage, as if I had been a smoker. Alpha-1 antitrypsin is a protein, and I don't have enough of it, apparently, to prevent the trypsin from causing damage. Genotype tests are being done to determine for sure if I have the genetic condition. Right after this I'll be off doing some web searches for more information, you can be sure.

Some of the highlights of this last week: Gene visiting for the weekend, the movie "Howl's Moving Castle" by Miyazaki, and a wonderful Mardi Gras dinner with some delightful friends.