Out of the hospital, on with life
At the end of the second week, Mayberger did begin to get better. Her donor marrow was "engrafting," meaning it was beginning to grow and produce blood cells. In the third week, she became remarkably better — "I rejoined the living," she recalls. As the patient became stronger, the masks came off, and Dubeau and program social workers began preparing the Maybergers for their transition home. Their at-home guidelines included temporarily removing fresh produce and other foods that carry usually harmless bacteria from their diet, avoiding public places where Mayberger would be exposed to viruses and bacteria, and wearing a mask over her mouth and nose in public places. They made plans for monthly follow-up visits to the outpatient clinic at Dana-Farber, visits that would become less frequent with each positive report.
The Maybergers look forward to their first transplant anniversary in June 2000. They have marked signs of progress along the way — the return of Dianne Mayberger's hair, a reduction in the trembling caused by medications, her first jog, their first trip to a restaurant, her return to work in early 2000. They belatedly celebrated one of their daughter's birthdays, and their kids didn't seem to mind a few trips to the mall with Mom wearing her mask.
