I came home last Thursday, as expected, but have been silent since then because I have been enjoying time with the family and also time with my nephew, Kelvin. He came all the way from Toronto to help us out. It was such a blessing to have Kelvin around. I was feeling fatigued when I came home, and Kelvin just spoiled me rotten. Now that he has gone home, it is back to reality for me. he! he!
After coming home, I spent most days in bed because I started having hives a few days later. The hives would flare up at night and keep me from having a good night's rest. Good thing I was in my own bed, and not in a hospital bed. That would just make me miserable! The doctor said that the hives is a form of GVHD (graft versus host disease), and that it is actually good that I had some, because it shows that the transplant was effective. Guess I should be thankful for it. Now that I have been given steroids, I was able to sleep well last night. No more walking around like a zombie during the day!
I have to go for check-ups twice a week. So far, my blood count has been good, and the doctor seems happy with my progress. I had a bone marrow biopsy yesterday. We'll know the results in a couple of weeks. Now, if the hives will die down even as the doctor reduces my medication, that would just be perfect. I still have until November 11 to be out of the critical stage. The first 100 days after transplant are critical because anything can go wrong. So, I am being extra careful. There are many restrictions - no restaurant food, no salads, no fruits with soft skin like berries, no leftovers over 14 hours, no exposure to dust or animals, no crowded places, etc. The good thing is that I can eat real food now, as long as it's home cooked. Thanks to Kelvin, Nora, Cristina and Bessie, our family remains well-fed even if I haven't started cooking yet. Hopefully, I get to sleep well at night from here on, so I can start acting like a human being again, not just some zombie walking around our house and falling asleep at all hours of the day. I feel more energized today, and I hope this is the turning point to get me back to having a regular schedule. It is pretty boring to be sleeping most of the day.
By the way, I picked up a few skills while at the hospital with lots of time to kill. In addition to learning to play the harp, I also learned how to knit! I never thought I would be so bored that I would take up knitting. Well, never say never. I was able to knit a scarf for Ellie, and I have a couple more to make for Katie and Kelvin. I am definitely getting more and more domesticated. Whodathunk?! :-)
That's all for now. Thank you all for your prayers and may God continue to bless you and your family.
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Glad to see you made it home to be with your family! I think about you always and prayers and good energy are sent your way!
ReplyDeleteMay God bless you with a speedy recovery!
Keep us posted!
Hi Valerie!I'm a friend of Nini Obeso,and I was so touched to read your blog.Let me introduced to you myself,my name is Cha and I have a husband who was recently diagnosed with AML MO this last July 30 and just finished w/the induction chemotherapy and he was in remission. But still the oncologist recommended for a BMT since my husband's bone marrow is not generating good cells and it needs to be replace.So we were introduced to a transplant doctor from Cedar-Sinai and discuss the pros and cons of the BMT.I just hope too, that going thru the plan of BMT is a better decision for my husband's health.It's so amazing that God works his mysterious ways.You are such an inspiration to my husband and to us.Thank you for sharing your blog with us.God bless!
ReplyDeleteHi, Cha! Sorry it took so long to respond. I was "offline" for a while. Glad to be of help. Having a BMT is a better long term solution for blood cancers.
ReplyDeleteKeep yourselves positive all the time, especially your husband. It is true that people who are positive and happy recover faster from cancer. And we have good reason to be happy. Our God is an awesome and loving God, able to do above and beyond what we can ask or imagine. If you would like to send me an email, you can send it to my FB or Gmail account, just ask Nini for the address. I will keep your husband and family in my prayers.