Settling in at MDA

I checked in to the 11th floor of the Alkek wing of M. D. Anderson yesterday. The floor is completely dedicated to stem cell transplant patients. It contains 4 "pods" of 13 beds each. The 52 rooms stay booked constantly. I feel very fortunate.
We checked in very early in the evening. Even so, they didn't seem completely ready, and they suggested we escape to the cafeteria so that I could enjoy a final "outside" hour before being sequestered on the 11th. Yes, contrary to our earlier understanding, I'm confined to the floor for the 3 to 6 weeks of inpatient care. I had thought that I'd be able to go wandering anywhere in the hospital, including out on the grounds. But no.
The only treatment I received yesterday was fluids. So they hooked me up to my "tree," using the central venous catheter they installed on Monday. Even though I was very tired last night, getting to sleep in my new environment was difficult. I had a hard time adjusting to the mechanical sounds of my tree and to the pneumatic adjustments the bed makes whenever I move. But I'm getting used to it. My wife wanted to spend the night here (the room has a Murphy bed), but I encouraged her to spend the night at our apartment. I think one of us being confined to a hospital is plenty! She'll spend some nights here, but I think it's better for her to have a more normal routine. Also, the staff come into my room at all hours to check vitals, etc. Not the best environment for a good night's sleep.
Today I received my first chemo, a drug called fludarabine. I got it at about 9:30, and I can't say I've noticed anything. They say it can take 4 or 5 days before side effects set in. My dose isn't a particularly heavy one, so there's a chance I won't have too bad a time. We'll just have to wait and see.
The food here is pretty great so far. Really! For breakfast I had a bacon and cheese omelette with French toast, and for lunch I had grilled salmon with macaroni and cheese and spinach. The great thing is that you can call room service any time from 6:30 a.m. until 9:30 p.m. You're not tied to their schedule. Apparently they re-did their whole food service system a few years back and instituted that way of doing things. It makes a lot of sense for a cancer hospital. Most people here have a very hard time keeping their weight up and their food down, so allowing people to eat when they are actually hungry makes enormous sense. Let's hear it for state-run health care!
We learned last week that my donor is a 19-year-old male. He will go into the hospital on the 12th, be placed under general anesthesia, have about 25 needle punctures made in his pelvis, and have one-and-a-half liters of bone marrow extracted. Yeah, a total stranger is giving up over 48 ounces of bone marrow for me. I didn't know the body had so much marrow, let alone just the pelvis. I've had six marrow extractions so far, spread out over 3 widely spaced times. It's no picnic. He's getting 25 at one time. He'll be unconscious, but believe me, this kid's going to be in a lot of pain for several days. So I have a new hero. And my New Year's resolution is to now stop making any disparaging comments about the younger generation for the rest of my life.