My first thoughts from the other side...most important, this isn't the "recovered" Joel speaking, but rather, the very, very early phase of "recovering" Joel...the first gaps in the mist. The second thought is that irony is everything. You will remember that there were all sorts of dreadful side effects for which I needed to be prepared after the stem cell transplant. Nausea: in the past week, I had a couple of easily controlled bouts. Fever: not once. Loose Stools: a few easily controlled episodes. Exhausion: some, but never debilitating. Insomnia: not a bit. Inability to taste food, inability to consume enough calories to support oneself, and inability to hydrate sufficiently: I ate full meals and drank plenty enough to stay hydrated. My recovery has, in short, been one of the best that the Clinic has witnessed in years. Ah, but irony: with all of these ideal outcomes, why is it the case that I have not sailed through as as outpatient, but instead have spent the past seven nights hospitalized? And why am I still stuck in the hospital? I've promised my daughter Mariann that I will explain the problem that landed me here, but that will require an entirely new posting.