#24 Patience
I came home two weeks ago! Today is the one-month mark since I was blessed with my new stem cells. I was able to send a heartfelt, de-personalized note of thanks to my 23-year-old donor who remains anonymous. If she agrees, which I hope she will, we can meet at the one-year mark and I can give her a proper hug and shower her with big love. Apparently gifts of any sort are no longer allowed.
I keep telling my providers, when you need someone to re-write the Stem Cell Transplant Booklet, I’m your gal. While I knew it would be hard, I really had no idea. Paul says I just didn’t want to read the fine print. Maybe that’s true. In any case, the worst I pray is behind me. I have all the right signs of engraftment, meaning that the stem cells are now generating healthy white cells, red cells, and platelets. As is typical post-transplant, it takes longer for the baby reds to bounce back, but I’m moving in the right direction there, too. And better yet, I have no evidence of graft vs. host disease, which I pray remains the case. Indeed, miracles abound.
My main job now is very basic: to rebuild and recondition. I need to eat, drink, move, rest, take the anti-rejection medication (and a slew of others to prevent viral, bacterial, and fungal infections as my new immune system learns the ropes,) and perhaps the hardest one for me: try not to go absolutely nuts waiting for all this to take place! The…
