Back to March 2016

Okay sorry for the digression from the story of my experiences. I will  pick up where we left off a couple of days ago when the hematologist just finished telling me that I had to have a stem cell transplant or I was expected to live till about 5 years.

Heading back to work the next day I was sort of in a cloud like manner still recovering from the shock I just had. I mean it had only been just over a couple of months since I had a sore throat that made me go to the hospital in the first place and by chance I asked the nurse to give me a blood test. Now here I was forced to get a stem cell transplant in order to live longer than my mid-sixties.

Work was fine though and it so happened that April I had the highest cheque average for the month so that was a feather in my cap after being asked to not concentrate on winning the wine contest but increase my average cheque instead.

I had another visit with the hematologist who I was getting bloodwork done now for on a weekly basis. My hemoglobin was now starting to drop below 80 on a regular basis so I was heading to Kitchener 22 kilometers away twice a week now. On the Wednesday to do the bloodwork and then match that up for my transfusion the following day. The transfusions take close to four hours for two pints of blood. Each pint would add about 10 to your hemoglobin so usually at this time I would be getting one every two weeks.

Afterwards I would get home grab a bite to eat and shortly thereafter be off to work to do my evening shift. The hematologist referred me to a doctor at Juravinski Hospital in Hamilton about a fifty minute drive from our place where the stem cell transplant would happen. The first consultation was to talk a little about what a transplant would entail. Also to ask if I had any siblings that would be a good match. My Dad was dead and my Mom was in a Long Term Care home in no shape to donate her cells. That left my brother but he just finished having a bout with colon cancer so that was not possible either. The doctor did say that it should not be too hard to find a donor when the time came.

On each visit to Hamilton I would have bloodwork done there as well so between there and Kitchener I was feeling like a pin cushion getting poked all the time.

That Spring I was also getting all these tests done. The ventral vein was checked to make sure the passage way was clear for the blood to flow. Apparently with stem cell transplants it is important to make sure the blood can get to places like the liver and heart alright. Kind of makes sense. I had a liver biopsy which is kind of crazy. The doctor comes in and he is looking at the monitor. He pulls out this huge needle to freeze the surrounding area then takes what looks like and sounds like a stapler and does a couple of staple gun noises on my liver and gets a sample of what he needs and it is all done. I had to do it a second time although I was never quite told why but there was some cancerous thing going on that they wanted to check on. That was what I got a wind of and that will come later in this story. I had some ultrasounds, CT scans, x-rays, electro cardiograms for my heart. You name it.

You would think I was fit as a fiddle. Unfortunately though my hemoglobin was getting worse. I was losing energy for my work. Instead of being eager to run food I would try to avoid it. I said to Trevor the dining room manager toward the end to just put me on open and cut me as soon as he could. I couldn't even wait anymore effectively. It would take all I had. I was dead on my feet.

Finally in June sensing that this issue I had was not getting better and thinking now about the stem cell transplant and the time off I would need I gave my two week's notice. I had got the doctor's note to say my condition was preventing me from working and that a cure was not imminent I applied for disability benefits.

I  believe almost to this day 3 years ago I left the Keg. I had a couple of beers before I left compliments of the Keg and said good bye. When I left to go to the parking lot I turned around and took a quick look and got choked up. Not only was I leaving that job but this was the end of 38 years working in the restaurant industry. I was going to work till I was 65 I thought doing what I knew best but my health wouldn't let me.

That was a tough night..