Recovery sure is a bumpy road, as I had been warned. Since Christmas I’ve been doing well. My shingles cleared up pretty quickly without too much pain. I have a bit of scaring left from the scabs. My blood work has been coming back great. I finally had my liver biopsy to rule out GVHD. I got myself worked up about the biopsy and it ended up being no big deal at all. On January 15th I had my biopsy which happened to be a year from the day I was first diagnosed with AML. On that day I had mixed emotions. A feeling of accomplishment and strength that I made it through a year of hell. I also cried at the idea that cancer has been consuming my life for a whole year and counting. A whole year out of work, feeling unwell, being unsure of the future. For the most part I remain positive on the outside but I still have my days where I break down and cry. The hard part now is having people think..”oh she had her transplant months ago, she’s done with chemo so she’s good to go now.” But that’s simply not the case at all. My recovery is going to take up to a year or more. It’s hard not being able to jump back into a normal life like everyone else. I try to make it as normal as possible, when I’m feeling good and have the energy. My last trip to my doctor I came home with a pile of new drugs to take. I’m basically taking all the same drugs I was on when I first came home from my transplant. He has put me on prednisone for my joint pain. It has been getting worse over the last few months so he wants to help control the inflammation. I’m at the point where I have trouble getting dressed because my range of motion is terrible. I can’t make a fist or bend and hold things properly with my fingers.
On a positive note, I’ve started doing some online courses to help me get back to school. Right now that is keeping me busy as well as spending as much time with friends and family as I can.
One Day At A Time 
I’ve started my chemo now. I know its not easy. I was actually diagnosed with AML in the begining. When I went for a BMT consult they changed it to cmml after looking at my marrow biopsy. I know its not easy. Its never over either. I totally identify with you. Most of my friends don’t seem to grasp everything. I know when they first told me I was a little slow to understand. I was just in for a blood test because I was soo week the past few months. I didn’t think i was going to make it into my appointment even, they did the biopsy and said you have leukemia. I had no idea I was going to go through all of this then. I figured they’d give me a chemo pill and I’d go home in a day or two. haha yea right! Anyway, its a long road, With God’s help, we’re gonna kick this crap to the curb!
: ) I’ll keep you in my prayers.
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Crazy how life changes in the blink of an eye! Thank you for your prayers. I’ll be doing the same for you. Hoping a suitable donor is found for you and your transplant goes as smooth as possible! It’s the right choice to live a long healthy life! :)
Best wishes.
Candace
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Thanks candice, i had a lot of mixed feelings about doing the bmt, still do, but i’m already done with day one of chemo. They have a 10/10 match already lined up, she has the same blood type as me and same virus stuff too so it couldn’t get any better. Sometimes I wonder if they don’t just drum you up, everything is always perfect and your doing so awesome haha!
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