Thanksgiving!!!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend and that you were able to find lots of things to be thankful for! If not, let me know and I'll be glad to share some of mine for I have been well blessed despite this crazy year. Every day is a new day and one for which I strive to be thankful.
I was able to spend Thanksgiving in N.C. with family. This was the first trip that I've taken in almost a year and a half (not counting Omaha) so it felt very good. I was probably exposed to more germs in the past 5 days than in the past 5 months, so I've been praying for God's bubble of protection! Overall, I've been feeling good. Still can't keep up with Connor and Katie, but am getting closer. The swelling in my legs is already starting to go down which is better than I can express and my labs looked good today. Hgb, WBC and platelet levels on the rise!

God, your mercies are new to me every day! I give You thanks for renewing my health and for relief from my pain and worry. Continue your healing within me, that I may return to the work you have given me to do. Amen.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dad and my trip to Omaha was relatively uneventful. I’d have to say that stopping at Trader Joes (1st time) was probably the most exciting part. Labs are once again relatively unchanged and Dr Vose can’t find a specific reason for the weird symptoms I’m experiencing (no major organ failure – whew). All the scans from last week came back normal. Soooo, she thinks it’s probably being caused by the FK (my antirejection med). I only have another month or so to be on it, but she decided to switch me to a different one in the meantime to try and get my blood counts up and swelling down! It will probably be a couple weeks before I can tell if it’s helping, but am glad to be trying something!
Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." ~Psalm 100: 4-5

Maybe this week...

Change of plans – with the uncertain labs, the swelling in my legs and the GVHD rash, Dr Vose decided that she needed to see me next week so Monday morning I'll be heading back to Omaha. Maybe this will be my week of answers! Pray for wisdom...

Friday, Friday, Friday!!

I think this week was a “push” when it comes to all that is in the land of Janna. No bad news, no good news, no answers. Thinking back on it, I'm actually pretty happy that they didn't find any answers since the tests they were running all looked at the functioning of my heart! I actually don't have the official readings from the ECHO and leg scans that they ran on Thursday, but if you have enough tests, you get pretty good at reading the technologist. When they play the “I can't interpret the test” card or say that your doctor will be notified of the results today and that you will receive a call, that's a bad thing. I was told that my physician would be given the results sometime next week. :)
As for the blood work, everything looked relatively unchanged from last week. Good in that my hgb didn't fall further, but it didn't go up either. I started noticing a rash this week which Omaha feels is most likely a sign of some GVHD but at this point, we’ll treat it with cortisone cream. Dr Vose is out of the country this week so no big changes – must be a rough life.
Regardless, I have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, I'll gladly take a “push” and legs that look and feel like tree trunks if it means spending the holidays with those I love.
“If you look, you can always find a silver lining” ~JW

Happy Monday!!

Sorry I didn't send out an update end of last week. I was hoping that lab results would come in so that I'd have some "answers" to share but I didn't hear back from the doctor until today. The additional labs didn't reveal anything to speak of - definitely no reason for the dropping hemoglobin. They're going to wait to make any changes until they see how this week's labs look. (when all else fails, give it 1 more week). This week has the potential to be a week full of answers. I saw my primary care doc this morning to talk about my swelling and she's ordered... you guessed it, some more labwork. And an ultrasound of my legs and heart to make sure the circulation is ok. Will let you know what I find out as the week goes on. Thanks for the continued support and concern!

Day 150!

Hard to believe that I've already been home for 50 days and that it's been almost 6 months since my transplant! I have to admit that I thought things would have progressed a little quicker than they have. My impatience is starting to show through and to be honest, it's a miracle that it's taken this long to start feeling the restless ache of wanting to feel “normal” and be able to do what I want. Not to mention the disappointment that my stamina hasn't rebounded as quick as I'd like. Don't get me wrong, I'm still very thankful that I'm home, cancer-free, and able to go to work, go to church, live on my own, visit friends... but I'm starting to feel the undercurrent of impatience.
I went back to Omaha today for my monthly check and things were ok. They don't see signs of rejection, but my blood counts have continued to drop so they're running some more tests to try and find a cause for that. (Should know those results by the end of the week). No real answer for the swelling but might be connected to the meds or maybe the anemia. Hopefully it will correct itself soon as I'm tired of my feet hurting, the puffy face and the cankles, oh the cankles! Thankfully, I have seen improvement in my neck pain and headaches – praise God for friends that are PT's!
And praise God for all the men and women that have served our country to protect our freedom. May we show them the same support that they have shown to us! Happy Veterans Day.
"...be content with what you have because God has said, "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you." ~Hebrews 13:5