Before my transplant, I had no idea what anyone meant when they talked about the 100 days. It is standard that transplant patients remain under careful and close observation for 100 days after the transplant because that is when signs of Graft vs. Host Disease (GVHD) are most likely to appear. GVHD is the biggest threat to patients post-transplant.
I was discharged from the hospital on December 1, 2021 at 23 days post-transplant. That left me with 77 days to go before I could go home, since I got my transplant out-of-state. As I write this, I am at about day 55 post-transplant and I feel GREAT! I haven’t needed a transfusion since the day I was discharged. At that time, my white cells had started to creep up but were still pretty low. My platelets weren’t getting higher but they weren’t getting lower either, which was good. My red blood cells had still been decreasing and I was still getting blood transfusions regularly. But sure enough, the red cells started climbing after that too and my hemoglobin has not dipped below 7 since then.
In the weeks after discharge, my white blood cells reached normal levels and my platelets skyrocketed and are well within normal range (yay!). My red cells are still lagging behind but, at 10.1, are the highest they’ve been since June!
So far, I have not had any symptoms of GVHD or any new infections. I have been feeling better and better since I got out of the hospital. I have more energy now than I’ve had since June as well. Two weeks ago, I was still getting winded easily from walking too fast or standing too long, but now I can walk quickly for a mile or more with no problem. I even have moments when I forget I had a transplant.
77 days is a long time to be away from home (and your amazing dog companion) in limbo when you feel good and are relatively healthy. I do not intend to stay the full 100 days. If things continue as they are, I intend to leave on February 1, which would be day 81 post-transplant. In the recovery update, you will find out if I did leave early and how it went. Wish me luck!
P.S. One of my acquaintances (who is a survivor of childhood cancer) got in a mountain biking accident last year and had to have his leg amputated. He recently posted on Facebook that one year after the amputation, he completed his first triathlon. Wow! This inspired the crap out of me to set goals that surely my doctor would not believe are realistic for 2022 (like running a 10k when I’m not a runner).
No comments:
Post a Comment