Help Vinay & Sameer

So this is how they count in the transplant world. It’s “Day -6″ for me today. In six days, I will be born again, not in the evangelical sense, but by literally having a new protective shield - a new immune system - growing inside me. All of this, of course, is THANKS TO MY INCREDIBLE DONOR. Wherever you are, may God bless you….you have no idea what you are making possible here. If I have my way, there will be a great multiplier effect that will “return the favor” that you and humanity have given me many-fold over the years.

It’s been good to be in the hospital today. I’ve tremendously enjoyed the time with Reena, my loving and beautiful wife, over the past few days. She’s a rock of support and the most tender person ever - all rolled up into one delightful creature. How God could make me such a lucky man is beyond me.

I’ve also had a fantastic time with my visitors over the past week: my freshmen roommate and dear friend, Carter Lipton, my brother-in-law, Deepesh, and my very loving mother-in-law. And then, yesterday, Lakshmi Pratury, an old friend who I worked with in the early days of the American India Foundation, swept by yesterday afternoon to catch up on old times - and, unexpectedly, also to invite us to a private pre-screening party for a new film she’s working on, Outsourced. The evening at the Skinner’s house in Seattle, one of the truly historic Seattle families, was warm, charming, and a fantastic prelude to a month in the hospital.

So here I am, rearing to go. (My spirit is being dampened by the realization that a patient a few doors down may have just died…but I don’t know that for sure. I’m now struggling to decide whether to stay close to the action or request a room transfer so that I’m further from the ICU rooms for the next few weeks.) Overall, my medical team has wisely wished that this be the most boring and uneventful hospital stay I could ever imagine. And I certainly hope it is.

I was amazed today by a truly remarkable soul who is simply undaunted in the face of certain death from cancer in the next few months. I already witnessed my father-in-law’s valiant battle in the face of the same predicament over the past 3 years, and was amazed at his strength and smiles through it all. And today I was introduced to this article and this video of Dr. Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon professor with months to live. I realized that these two men have one important thing in common - they lived their lives fully for every moment. If I don’t learn a single thing through this journey, I hope to at least remember that lesson since, as Dr. Pausch points out, life is finite, one just never knows for exactly how long.

Today, Day -6 for me, is also Day 12,775 for one of my closest friends, Dayal. As he is paraded around San Francisco wearing a wig and cheap women’s perfume (don’t ask!), I must say, that’s the only place I’d seriously consider ditching my loyal IV pole for right now. Happy Birthday, Uncle D!