Time for another update. I have been feeling so good that blogging about being a sick person or fighting cancer hasn’t been something I wanted to think about lately. I do realize that there are many of you out there, wonderful friends and family, who have supported us and prayed for us and really want to know how I am doing. I didn’t blog last week, so I will give you a two week synopsis.
Last week’s blood numbers looked good (Whites – 5.0, Reds – 10.2, and Plates – 100), and this week’s were similar (White – 4.4, Red – 10.3, Plates – 124). My platelets are heading for the normal range. My white cells are in the low normal and my hemoglobin might hang around the slightly anemic range that it has been in for a while. I received a good call from the nurse last week with the results of my “who’s who.” At certain points post transplant they check my blood to see how much of it is donor and if any of my cells or leukemia are rearing their ugly heads. I am all DONOR! This is a good sign. The doctors are still using words like you are doing “fantastic” and “you are doing as well as anyone can after a transplant.” I have had much more energy over the last four weeks. It has also been good to get back to work. I am looking forward to the school year starting. Next week I will be participating in professional development for the teachers as well as new teacher orientation.
After Day +100 I will be able to go back into crowds (yeah – going back to church!). I am now going to have to rely on my own new immune system as I received my last treatment of antibodies today. It is a little scary, and the doctor said to be very careful around people. Getting a dangerous infection is still a strong possibility for up to a year.
I truly believe it is a miracle how well the transplant went. I am in remission now, and if I don’t relapse for 3 years, they are then willing to call me cured. Today I asked the doctor if he has seen people my age or older get cured from ALL (Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia) with a bone marrow transplant. He said yes. You would think that I would have asked that earlier. (It is a particularly vicious form of leukemia if you are over 11 years old. Many people relapse before 3 years.) The doctors always use words like “best chance for a cure” when referring to my transplant.
There is nothing I can do to avoid a relapse of the leukemia if it is going to happen. Some people have alluded to the fact that I should live a healthier life to avoid it. The only known causes of leukemia are exposure to benzene and high doses of radiation. Most people never know how they contract this cancer. It is not known to be genetic. The doctors say I am very healthy, and that has contributed to my quick recovery. I am just living my life like I am cured. We will all die sometime in the future, and I am enjoying every moment that I have been given. A friend said to me the other day that we are all “terminal.” Thanks to Jesus, the best part of life is when our bodies are finished!
Feel free to call or email. I know there are some people out there that I owe emails and calls. Right now I am trying to get adjusted to working consistently again. My days are filled with trying to get back to a normal routine. Often at the end of the day, I am sitting in a chair in the living room too physically tired to get up and find a phone number or think about which of my 40+ wonderful friends I need to call. I am just slow these days, and thank you for being patient.
Love you all,
Laura
P.S. Oaks, Crossing, and IndySabre families, I will be seeing you soon!
But after going through what we’ve been through in this past year, it seems so right that we are meant to be together. God has made us a couple and we will continue to be as long as both of us are alive. I am very grateful for Laura and how God has used her in my life to bring healing, conviction and passion for life and God.
