The last 3 weeks have flown by. It was great to be free to do what
I want, well to some extent. In the first 2 weeks I was at the Cancer
Center 3-4 times each week. They were closely monitoring my blood levels and its
chemistry. For the last few weeks it has shown that my blood has continued to recover,
and my critical cells are almost all back to normal range and ready for another
round of chemo. They also like to talk about my stools A LOT. I'll just leave this here.....
FYI it's a milk duds kind of day when you're taking chemo...
Thought this was interesting.....
I checked back into the
hospital on Sunday January 28 and immediately started chemo again. This round included 2 days of Cytoxan followed by a day off
(Tuesday) and then 4 days of Busulfan. I have currently completed the
Cytoxan and, as of today, I have finished the Busulfan. GOD WILLING, I am done with chemo! I
did have some nausea the last couple days due to the Cytoxan, but the doctors
have done a great job of getting my anti-nausea medications adjusted to counter
the effects of chemo. It is too soon to know if the chemo has done its job,
but all blood work shows good indications that my immune system is nearly wiped
out. Once my immune system is wiped out I will be ready to receive the
transplant! This is scheduled for Monday the 5th and it will be a day
that will be celebrated as a second birthday, and a new lease on life. I
am grateful for my brother, Sean, as he has begun his process to donate his stem
cells to me. He began his shots Thursday which will cause his body to
over produce stem cells so they can be harvested and transplanted. I cannot
wait to get this transplant! It will be the beginning of my official
recovery!
I have spent my 2 weeks off
getting moved into my parents, finalizing insurance and Social Security before
I was too far into chemo to want to deal with it. Dealing with insurance and our government
have by far been the most frustrating part of this process! My insurance, through my previous job, took a large jump in cost (COBRA) due to me having to
leave my job and on top of it the coverage changed to something much less than it was in 2017.
The hospital has been
great and stepped in to help absorb some of the coverage that was lost due to the
insurance changes on my COBRA policy. I
had to carry this policy in order to receive a transplant. KU would not offer a transplant unless I was
covered by a major carrier and not a government program or insurer. After many phone calls and applications, I did
also qualify for Social Security Disability, but that won’t pay a dime until
sometime in August when this is nearly over.
With all these frustrations there have also been many friends and family
that have rallied to offer their support emotionally, mentally, and financially
to help get me through these times and I cannot express enough appreciation for
these people. Cancer is not an easy
disease to fight mentally, physically or financially but the people in my life
have certainly made a difference.
As I come into the beginning of my official recovery period I look
forward to what is ahead. This experience
and time spent in the hospital has really opened my mind up and it makes me
excited to get back to work (wherever that maybe, I’m looking). It is still a ways off as summer seems so far
away but its never too early to start dreaming of the day!
