So I was ready to get my Stem Cell Transplant in March 2019 but there was a Mercury Retrograde going on and I was not going to have any communications or equipment break down at such an important moment in my life. So I asked to have the transplant moved to April and it proved to be a very good move because the 45 year old woman, who had been a perfect 10 out of 10 match to be my donor, failed her physical in March and was taken off the donor roll. It was time for Plan B.
Plan B was to go to my family because of a bloodline and find a donor. I’m an only child with no siblings, so the next circle would be my first cousins. The cutoff age to be a donor is 60 yrs. because at that age everybody starts to make cells which are unique only to them. Science doesn’t quite understand why this happens, but it happens. All my cousins are over 60 so now I needed to go to their kids. Luckily my oldest cousin’s son volunteered to be tested at Christmas and had been a match. Actually, he is what is known as a Half Match because my father and his grandmother (brother & sister) shared the same gene and so do we. It’s called a Half Match because the bloodline is on only 1 side of the family, but sometimes it’s favored over a stranger who is a 10 out of 10 match because of the bloodline.
The hero to my rescue was Marc Dral, my first cousin once removed, who had just turned 40. He was in from the start when I first asked him at Christmas and now I had to call him to let him know my 1st donor had failed her physical. To his credit, Marc never wavered in his help and support and for that I will always be eternally grateful. In fact, the whole experience of having to ask my relatives for their help was a very emotional experience. I had an outpouring of love and support from my wife’s family lining up to volunteer, including their friends. Unfortunately, like my wife, they’re complete strangers blood wise, but it was very gratifying to know they wanted to have my back.
Marc made his stem cell donation as planned in April and I received the transplant in May because I got sick in April a week before the scheduled day. I went into the hospital on May 2 and for 6 days they hit me with heavy doses of chemotherapy to kill off my immune system. Then on May 8th, I got my transplant and it’s considered to be your 2nd birthday because the nurses come in the room with a balloon and birthday greetings because I’ve been technically reborn with the immune system of a newborn baby. The idea of the transplant is for Marc’s cells to take over and form a new immune system in my body. I’m as defenseless as a baby and need to get all my vaccinations all over again. My blood type is now the same as Marc’s.
I would spend 26 days in the hospital. I had my own private room on the transplant floor at HUMC and the best of care from the doctors and nurses there. Just days before I went in I received my copy of TunedLoud Magazine with my photo on the cover. It came as a total surprise because the editor had to cancel the original cover because the artist wasn’t ready to release his project, which left an opening for the cover. The editor thought I was deserving of being on the cover and put me on and made me the centerfold story with other great photos that Mark Maryanovich had shot. Every time a nurse of doctor would visit I would pull out the magazine to show them and tell them that “I bet you didn’t know you were treating a celebrity”. LOL
I also brought the Rock’n’Roll Romantic cd to give out to anyone who might be interested in listening. Music would become a big part of my rehab there, particularly with 2 people. I gave the cd to an aide named Mark who looked after me. One day he came back to tell me he had listened to the cd and how impressed he was with my music. He went the extra step by playing me on Spotify over the speaker system on the ward. Every time I would go out of the room to walk around the ward (23 laps=1 mile), Mark would have my music playing in the halls. It was very uplifting for me to hear my music being played as I did my laps. THANK YOU Mark!! 😎
The other important person who came into my life there was Ike Lester. Ike did the caricature of me that’s on the inside panel of the Better Day cd. He used to do political caricatures for the Village Voice in NYC and was now volunteering his time doing them for the patients at the hospital. Ike is a soul man all the way and our talks about music and life were inspiring for me. I wasn’t very impressed with the 1st drawing he did of me until I realized that I really did look that bad. It wasn’t Ike’s fault. He might have made it a bit better. Then one day I showed him my magazine cover and he flipped over the photos, immediately picking one he wanted to draw. A couple of weeks later he knocked on my door and brought in the finished copy. It was GREAT!! I told him I would put it on the new cd I was planning and was able to give it to him after I was over my 100 days of quarantine after leaving the hospital. THANK YOU Ike!! 😎
I’m always surprised that people want to hear about what I went through during my stay and I understand why. Modern medicine is really doing amazing and unbelievable things but I will leave it here, except to say that I have 100% of Marc’s blood in me. The latest bone marrow test showed that there is no cancer or any blasts and I continue to regain my strength. Besides Marc and the great staff at HUMC, I owe my recovery to the love of my life—my wife Barbara, who is also my caregiver. I know it’s because of her undying love and care that I’m still around to tell my story. I’m a very fortunate and lucky man. 🙂