The Next Guy

We never formally introduced ourselves other than an occasional head nod of recognition. He sat two chairs away from me in the stem cell collection room and was pretty absorbed in his PSP game device. Seemed like a nice enough fellow and if I had to guess, I would guess that he was in his mid to late 20's.

Didn't learn much about him, but would also see him in the clinic before and after we were both admitted to the hospital. Our hospital stays overlapped each other. I would see him walking in the hallway every so often and would also see him sitting in his room when I would go for my walks. He pretty much kept to himself.

To sidetrack and answer a question you may have, as a patient, you were never allowed to enter another patient's room. You could stand outside of their doorway and talk to them from the hallway. You could both be in the hallway at the same time, but anytime you were in the hallway, you had to make sure you were wearing your mask.

When I was in a clinic appt. after the hospital stay, I heard him talking to a friend about when he would have his second transplant. As I understood it (and I could be incorrect), he was facing another stay in the hospital for a second round of chemo and then another transplant. I was curious for the details, but did not press as frankly, it overwhelmed me to think about it, I'm sure it was overwhelming for him to talk about it.

He was from out of town, so until he reaches his determined milestone (i.e. as mine is 100 days post transplant), he is not allowed to leave Richmond. I have no clue how much longer he has to stay in town. There are hotels, apartments and MCV has the Hospitality House that offers rooms at a reduced rate, in which people can stay.

It's not easy for the out of town patients. A patient that was across the hall from me in the hospital was an allogeneic patient from Roanoke and he had been in Richmond since February and was expected to be in town 6-8 more weeks from mid-July. As I calculate it, hopefully he has made it back home.

"Decorate your home. It gives the illusion that your life is more interesting than it really is." - Charles M. Schulz