“The deep breath before the plunge.” There was a time at the beginning of WWII known in Britain as the Phony War and in Germany as the Sitzkreig. My stem cell collection went so well last week that we had several days of freedom to make sure everything is prepared, then sit and contemplate what’s coming.

Today we wait for the Mayo hospital to tell us there is a bed ready, at which point I go in for paperwork, processing, and getting settled. Then I have some hours of hydration and loading with antiemetics in preparation for a single fatal dose of melphalan tonight. They won’t wait for full effects of the poison but rather have scheduled rescue infusion of half my stem cell collection (that half is nearly twice what is usually needed for engraftment) on Wednesday. That will be Day Zero of my new life. The other half of the collected cells will stay in the freezer, perhaps to be used for yet another rebirth some years down the road.

Yes I am afraid. Yes I have made the right choices. Like going to Caltech, this will be a good thing to have done. And the odds are considerably more in my favor than they were then. And if things don’t go perfectly it certainly won’t be for lack of loving support. I thank you again for all the prayers and good wishes.