Month: October 2018

It has been awhile since I have posted anything. Things are fairly routine right now. I have a weekly appointment with my oncologist at Strong, where my blood is drawn and I get a general check-up. This week I will travel back to MSK for a check-up with my transplant doctor.

During the week I help out with home tasks and try to stay healthy. We are approaching the flu season so I have to be especially careful not to catch anything. The family has already received their flu shots but in my condition I cannot get one.

Since the pace of activities have slowed down I am thinking of just posting once a week where I will provide a summary. Most likely every Monday, unless something major pops up. But, boring is good in this situation.

Today I rode on the bike trainer for the first time in a long time. Needless to say I am out of shape and now that I am home I can use our home gym to help me get fit again (that will take some time!). I just need to be careful not to overdo it, since I think my tendons and ligaments have taken a beating from the chemo and meds. Not that age has anything to do with it…

It is now triple digits post-transplant. D+100 is considered an important milestone for stem cell transplant patients since the greatest risk for critical side effects has past. But, as I had mentioned before, my immunity is still immature which will take some time to return to normal. Key for me is to stay healthy and not to be exposed to any illnesses. I have been home for several days now and it really is great. I still have many constraints to work with, but my spaceship world has opened up a little more. Being home also allows me to help out with domestic tasks, relieving the burden on my wife.

My next appointment is with my oncologist at Strong Memorial in Rochester later this week. I still have maintenance shots to coordinate and am not sure whether I have to receive them at Strong or ideally here at the local cancer center. I will also return to MSK in several weeks for a check-in with my transplant doctor.

After my maintenance shot today we rented a car and drove home. The drive back was uneventful once we got past NYC traffic. In my eagerness to depart I  forgot to take a departing photo with me posed in front of the apartment. According to the apartment staff I was the most senior resident at the apartment complex – now it is someone else’s turn to fill that position.

It has been 97 days since my transplant, but I had checked into MSK before then so I had been gone for a total of about 107 days. It is a great feeling to be back home with the family. I will still return to MSK for various appointments, but I will also continue with local treatments through Strong Memorial in Rochester.

So, the first phase of this journey to recovery has been completed. It has been challenging and we are not done yet, but there is always something to be grateful for:

• I am grateful for the wonderful support from family, friends, work colleagues, and others.
• I am grateful for the professionalism, competence, and compassion of all the medical  staff who have cared for me.
• I am grateful for a second chance at life, since there is so much more to accomplish.

 

Today was the fourth day of maintenance shots and I didn’t feel as naseous as I  did during the last cycle. My appetite seems to be getting back to normal, as I seem to be eating larger meals. The blood counts are good – in fact my platelets have reached a new high, and most probably they are at their highest level in the past several years. The initial biopsy results are good, with nothing abnormal detected. I am approved for returning home tomorrow!

However, my immunity is still immature and I need to be very mindful of that. I still have to be very catious about being exposed to any possible illnesses, since my body may not be able to fight them. It will still take some time for my immunity to get back to normal.

Today was caregiver switch day. My brother flew out today (thanks, John!) and my wife Laura drove in for the last week of my stay here. This was also the first day of the second cycle of maintenance shots. I will have to see whether I experience the same side effects of nausea.

The current plan is to depart here after my last shot on Friday afternoon. We are renting a car for a one-way drive back home. I am getting a little cabin fever and I am definitely looking forward to returning home.

Today I had several appointments. Besides the typical blood draw I also had a pulmonary test (for discharge prep) and my monthly bone marrow biopsy. Counts were as expected, so no surprises there. It will take a couple of days to get the initial results of the biopsy, and a week or so to get the molecular studies.