Day +50 and Counting

Today is day 50 - I can hardly believe it. My counts are fantastic yet I struggle with bouts of nausea and fatigue on a daily basis. I'm told that my body needs time to adjust to being on the Gleevec again - this is my 3rd week and I say enough is enough. My appetite is non-existent and food is my enemy. We are saving a fortune in groceries. Nothing seems to please my palette and I worry constantly about vomiting (which I've done 5 or 6 times in the past 3 weeks). Gosh, I don't remember being this bad in the hospital - well, maybe I was and have chosen to forget. I'm told the nausea and fatigue are the last two things to go away, that I need to practice patience and by November I'll be feeling much better! Huh!!!

My white count is over 6,000 and my ANC number is 3990. Since being released from the hospital I have not had to receive one blood product - I got me some good bone marrow didn't I? Brad continues to feel fine. The blood test that was taken on Day 30 to determine how much donor and how much patient marrow I have indicated that I am 85% donor and 15% patient. That is good news. The test will be taken again on Day 60 with a hope of 100% donor.

I am now on Dapsone (antibiotic) instead of Bactrim because I broke out in an itchy rash (not uncommom). While the itching almost drove me crazy at times, I adapted well to the smell of the medicated anti-itch cream. You can still find me scratching about and I often wonder if my skin will ever return to normal if there is such a thing. Speaking of which, I have quite the chemo tan - I look like I have been spending my days laying in the sun - NOT! I find it quite amazing that all of these things are happening now - almost 2 months after transplant - I wonder what is yet to come. That chemotherapy is potent stuff, that's for sure and takes a while to leave the body.

As of Day 60 (which is July 25th) I will be released from the IPOP Clinic and will visit Outpatient Services instead. I'm not sure what to expect at this point, but I think my visits will be less than 3 days a week. Tomorrow I have to attend a Discharge Class and a GVH (Graft vs Host) Class. I'll write about GVH as I learn more. I do know it has to do with the rejection process and that it can happen around the 3rd month after transplant. Just another hurdle, right?

As you can see by the picture I posted of my 60th birthday I have hair! That is my wig and while I get all sorts of compliments, I prefer to go au natural or wear a scarf. The good news is I do get to go out whenever I feel up to it and there are fewer restrictions. I try to avoid huge crowds though and have become quite the germaphobe, but hey, worse things can happen. Ray and I have been able to spend a lot of time on our boat which I find most relaxing. And this weather - I love it! The cool breezes and the lapping of the water are quite conducive to napping.