Day 37: Turn the Lights On!

I will have been home for three weeks on Monday, and the trajectory of my recovery continues to be ahead of the curve according to my medical team team at UCSF.  My blood counts have fluctuated a bit but are improving steadily without any transfusions.  This is a very positive sign because I needed transfusions every 2 - 3 weeks before the transplant, and almost every day right afterwards.  I am walking 2.5 miles daily on the trails around our house, which is as far as I was walking before the transplant, but most encouragingly now without becoming winded.  The chemotherapy in the hospital and post-transplant medications that I take every 3 hours have sometimes been hard on my gut and skin, but the symptoms have been manageable.  I have had no infections or signs of graft-versus-host disease, 37 days into the initial 100-day recovery period during which I am generally confined to home, except for my UCSF appointments and daily walks.  Full recovery of my immune system could take as long as 1 - 2 years.  We remain optimistic!

Our biggest challenge has been the forced power outage in response to fire risk from high winds in Northern California.  We camped in our cold house through 4 days of no power and unreliable data service, keeping IV bags of magnesium for my daily infusions on scarce ice.  We had flashbacks to the regular power outages we experienced in Nairobi.  We were so happy power was restored for Games 6 and 7 of the World Series so we could watch the Nationals win.  When we can't root for the Mets, we root for the Nationals!  What a Game 7!

Thank you for all your positive energy!

Our song for this post:  Put Your Lights On by Santana.