Plus 23

Hello, I finally feel like writing again. I’m at +23 on my stem cell transplant today. It has been an interesting past month to say the least. I’m still in recovery mode, and I’m told I will be this way for a few months at least.

The doctor told me that I did better than most. The end result is all that matters though, how much cancer is left or not left. I would rather be more miserable for longer and have a better response. I won’t know that answer for a few more months. I’m praying for MRD negative test result (zero cancer cells in a million).

I did get an engraftment fever, which wasn’t a surprise to me, since fevers are kind of my thing and I usually get them when I’m sick. Fortunately, I was able to stay out of the hospital from that.

Where my picc line went into my arm, that started to bleed one day, which was alarming because my platelets were so low. They put a plastic dressing over the line to hold it in place and keep germs out. It filled up with blood and I had a sack of blood hanging from my bicep. Fortunately, my measly number of platelets stopped the bleeding and the dressing just got changed.

The nausea was pretty challenging. Not surprising, since the chemo heftily kills off GI tract cells as well. I was only able to eat a third of what I normally eat, and that was forcing myself to eat. I managed it with ginger tea and drugs. I was told I could drink fresh vegetable juice if I made it myself (which I do anyhow). I feel like that helped my nutrition immensely, and kept my remaining blood cells alive and kept me away from transfusion.

I engrafted (my blood started growing again) on day +10. To my surprise, I was told I could go home on day +13 (I had to move into hospital apartments across the street from the ER, since I lived outside the “safe zone”). I didn’t need a red blood transfusion and I only needed one platelet transfusion.

My hair fell out as expected. I wear a beanie to keep my head warm. When I look into the mirror, I think I look like Toad from Mario brothers. Oh well, good thing it’s not permanent.

There was a park that was in walking range of the Stanford apartment that we walked to every day. There were some amazing oak trees there. Their branches went out horizontally for 20-30 feet from the trunk. I was amazed they didn’t snap off. Oak wood sure is hard.

I’m pretty tired all the time. Go to bed tired. Wake up tired. Tired from doing the smallest things. It’s getting old already. I’m the type of person who does things pretty constantly. I have a whole list of things I’m not allowed to do (due to germ, bacteria and mold risks), and it’s hard to get inspired to do things from what I am allowed to do. I don’t golf, but I’m not allowed to golf for 6 months, I think that one is pretty weird 🤪.

I got the picc line pulled out a few days ago, and today I’m allowed to use my right arm again. Even though I’m tired, I’m really looking forward to exercising again. I have been keeping up on my walking, about a mile every day. Call me crazy, but I did an almost 4-mile flattish hike the other day. I really needed to get out into nature. It makes me feel alive and quite frankly, sometimes I feel half dead these days at times.

Well I’m off to the exercise bike, hopefully I don’t collapse from it 🥴. Again, the only way is forward and I’ll keep on trucking….

Eat your vegetables!