An unexpected loss

That is what was troubling me last week, but I didn't yet know it. I have lost yet another body part, my own bone marrow. At least this time I had the choice, which I didn't have when that sexually abusive infant-male surgery was inflicted on me, nor when my tonsils and adenoids were cut out. Both cases were misguided attempts at better "health" which fortunately most doctors are beginning to eschew.

And this time the part was truly diseased, not perfectly healthy as my foreskin was, or just temporarily infected due to second-hand smoke as my tonsils might have been. But a loss of a body part is not uncommon, and if you've lost one, I hope it was truly important for your well being and that you had complete information available. As much as I knew about this donor transplant process, I wish I had realized this aspect of it.

I learned this week that high numbers are good, in terms of the percentage of donor cells in the bone marrow. Some day, we will be able to target just the bad cells in the bone marrow, instead of all of it, but for now, this is the best treatment available. It is a bit of a sledge hammer approach, though, and has other risks.

Highlight this week was walking up the hill to the Harvard Exit Theatre to see the highly recommended movie "The Lives of Others", followed by an early dinner at the Deluxe. If you see the movie, you might be like me, still wondering half-way through "why do I want to see this", but then it grabs you. When we were walking home, I had the feeling that I had escaped, for at least a few hours, which was good.