Things to do

It is just 4 weeks to go before I start my physical tests for the BMT and then another couple more weeks before the actual BMT. But what should I do with this time? I have a lot of things that I have been putting off for years, but now need to be done just in case I don't survive the BMT recovery process. During this time I would like to get up to the Bemidji cabin, possibly over Easter, and then have the COFES conference on April12-15. I won't be doing any traveling for probably a year after the BMT.

We also have a birthday party scheduled for my son (turned 18 yesterday) and my sister (turned 65 today). Also planning a birthday party for my mother-in-law (93) and me (59 on May 9th). I will miss my son's high school graduation at the end of May, but I am very proud of him. He has been accepted and is registered at the U of MN College of Biological Sciences in preparation for medical school. He already has been awarded full scholarships based on his 4.0 grade average and community participation. It will be good to have him around as I recover over the next couple of years.

Anyway, what is on my list? Top priority are a will, a medical directive and power of attorney. Then there are all the secrets about where I have all the money hidden. Actually, since I have managed all the finances, I need to document my use of Quicken, banks accounts, 401k plan, insurances, etc. Also need to complete our income tax forms for last year.

On Friday, I met with my supervisor and the benefits administrator at work. We discussed all the Short Term (STD) and Long Term Disability (LTD) benefits. It appears that I have optimized my STD such that I will have just 3 hours short of 26 weeks. I have worked extra hours to make up for time that I needed for Dr appointments, blood tests and transfusions and was last sick only 3 hrs back in November. Since our STD is a rolling year total, any time I took before November will drop out of the total of 26 weeks which will be over on October 26th. I also accumulate vacation while out on STD so will have that pay to bridge the gap to LTD if I need to. Unfortunately, 14 weeks of STD is at 65% pay and LTD is at 60% pay. I also found out that after the 26 weeks of STD, I will no longer be an employee, but can continue with the same benefits plan if I pay for it directly. I still need to check into taxes on this income as well as Social Security disability. Anyway, plan for the worst case and hope for the best.

Another item that I worked some more on this evening is my life story. The outline and about 10% of rough notes totals 14 pages so far. It is not an easy thing to do, but something I recommend that everyone does. We have some stuff from my mother and diaries that she kept for years, but it would be great to have something similar from my father and other ancestors.

I am also trying to clean out old stuff that may have seemed valuable to me, but certainly not to anyone else. Again, there are a lot of memories and stuff to document. How any one know what is really valuable unless I make some notes?

Just thinking about all this makes me wonder if I am doing the right thing in getting a BMT. But I have to trust the advice of the doctors to move ahead and the power of God to carry me through it.