Days "-8" and "-7": First Days In Hospital

First couple of days in the hospital. I've been learning how one designates days in the transplant process.  Yesterday was Day minus eight (-8).  So designated because Day Zero is next Wednesday which is what one affectionately refers to as "transplant day".  Day "-7" (today) inches ever closer to the transplant day.

The goal, in the words of one of the nurses, is to 'give you enough chemotherapy to kill you'.  But fortunately killing the patient is not actually the intent.  It's more about killing the patient's immune system and reducing all immune functions to basically nothing so that new cells can be introduced (Day 0).  Assuming all goes well, that infusion leads to a gradual rebuilding of immune function and one is discharged and sent home to lead a long and happy life.

Yesterday was generally uneventful, filled with driving, administrative tasks, labs, meeting with the attending physician, meeting with the transplant coordinator (who originally hales from Canada), and getting pep talks from the various nurses on Floor 6 of Helford Hospital.  Some "good cop" "bad cop" dynamics at play. Fortunately, nurses have way more "good cop" than "bad cop" going on. Overall, the experience seems to be: a bit of prison, a bit of luxury resort, a bit of monastery, and a bit of medical institutionalization, all with a lot of great people who seem to care a great deal about their patients and their hospital. Room service is quite the highlight.  These guys seem to think that food is a centerpiece of one's success around here.

All seems manageable thus far but the clear message from the nursing staff is, "Don't worry we haven't had a chance to really beat up your body yet", all said in a spirit of love and professionalism.  But one does take solace in the fact that COH has done thousands of these procedures and, by all accounts, is pretty good at it.

Serendipitous (and encouraging) event in the parking lot yesterday:  connected with Dr. Rosen (my main physician and the COH Cancer Director) who expressed interest in following me throughout the procedure (though the attending physician for the transplant is Dr. Herrera). Dt. Rosen is not only exactly who you would want in charge of your cancer care, he is also a great example of a leader profoundly impacting those he serves with his gifts and strengths,  I don't know if he's a practitioner of the Gallups strengths philosophy (as I am) but he absolutely is an example of someone playing to his strengths and bringing his best contribution daily to his myriad stakeholders (of whom I get to be one).

Coaching Tips (This is the What I'm Learning From My Cancer Part)
Two things:  Never alone. Never without a goal . Two things that seem painfully and abundantly obvious on Days -8 and -7:   This transplant thing (and life thing) only works with the right people and it only works with focus.

The Right People--MD's, the wife (never forget the wife), the PCA's (learned today that was Patient Care Assistant), nurses, case managers, housekeepers, recreational therapists, nutritionists and others are all critical parts of this effort and success of this is going to rely on my connecting well with them and benefitting from each of their roles.

Focus--I'm also thinking that generally maintaining focus on the goal(s) is going to matter a lot, I'm a 60-year-old man.  Assuming this goes well I could have ten years or more to serve kiddos (and our counseling team) at a non-profit in the San Bernardino mountains, engage with friends/wife/God/Golden Retriever, have a positive service impact on not-for-profits generally and other leaders in our community, and start a not-for-profit focused on Christian Community Group (CCX) experiments.  I'm thinking those are worth doing so figuring out how to navigate through this particular next few weeks is also worth doing.

Coaching resources.  (This is the What You Might Learn From My Cancer Part)
Before I left the office I presented a new policy to the team that included the following videos, both of which I see as great catalysts for personal and professional growth:
"The Call to Courage" by Brene Brown (on Netflix).  This is a condensed version of a presentation Dr. Brown gave in L.A. recently (which our clinical supervisor got to attend).  Lots here to propel individual growth and professional leadership.
"Great Leaders Do What Drug Addicts Do" by Michael Brody-Waite.  I discovered this in the midst of creating a Performance Improvement Plan policy and decided to use it as part of our strategy for encouraging staff to meet the organization's productivity standards.  Worth a listen/look even if all you get is the three principles that recovering addicts live by (and leaders should live by).