If anyone still tunes in to read, sorry about the delays in blog updates. I'd just like to say, "My name is Mike Kearny, and I have a problem writing in my blog." Not sure exactly why, but I think I'll at least stop making promises and I'll just try and get something in writing as often as I can. I'm sure most of you can see why I could never maintain a Facebook account. My secret fear is that I would be 'friendless' related to my inconspicuous absence from keeping my 'page' up to date. But, if this blog is going to be a chronicle of my stem cell transplant journey, I better step it up.
Anyway, I'm feeling good. You heard about my "mild" cold in the last blog entry. Well, it ended up turning into a pretty gunky cough that lasted more than a week. Much better now and it actually made me feel relieved to get something and then get over it without any big problems. It didn't seem any worse than a cough I would normally get in the winter. I had this fear that any illness I got would "take me out." As paranoid as that sounds, it's kind of hard not to have bad thoughts in the back of your mind when you're so immunosuppressed. This irrational thought is all related to how they educate you about your "vulnerability" and all the precautions you need to take. Not to mention all the blood work to check for various virus', etc. So, it was truly a relief to get sick and come through it well.
All of my lab counts and numbers continue to look good. I think I am Day +67 today. Still having weekly blood draws and my doctor appts have gone to monthly (unless needed more often). At Day +100 I will go to every other week blood draws. Still on the same medications. I am actually only on three meds, so it's not too many. I go off of them one at a time starting at Day +100 (Bye Bye Diflucan), 6 months (Adios Bactrim), and then the final one at one year (Sayonara Valtrex).
The hardest thing for me is to try and remember that I'm only two months out from a stem cell transplant - and to take it easy! I really don't have any fatigue or pain, and I'm eating well, but I just don't have the strength, especially in my legs, that I'm used to. I blame this more on the Prednisone (which I have been off since mid-Jan) more than the chemo. I get a bit frustrated by this, but then I am reminded by my doctors AND CASEY that I am doing very well and need to make sure I'm taking it slowly. But, mostly, I am able to do what I want (except my two favorite things, gardening and home improvement projects). I'm walking a lot every day. I think I know the construction schedule and progress of every home improvement project in the Wallingford, Green Lake, and Phinney Ridge neighborhoods. I took the kids on a hike at Cougar Mt. last Saturday - they did great. I was actually surprised because we did 4 miles and a fair bit of climbing with only the smallest amount of whining at the very end. I thought this was excellent considering it was Owen's first real hike. Can't wait to get out this summer and find some more exciting trails with the kids. I also went on a bike ride Sunday and I definitely felt EVERY mile. I used to go 50 miles without needing any food or water, and now 26 flat miles on the Burke-Gilman Trail was quite strenuous. This is the event that helped me see that I should probably go a bit slower and not be in such a hurry - heck, I'm not even at the three month mark yet.
I think I was feeling like the amount of stuff I was doing was a barometer for how WELL I was doing. You know, that the amount of exercise I was doing was directly proportional to my progress. I guess that's kind of silly to think that way, so I'm going to try to go a bit slower. I was going to take Jack to a in-line skating class this Saturday, but maybe I'll hold off for a few weeks. And I might wait until next year to take up skate skiing (I've wanted to do this for a long time and the Olympics has gotten me psyched). Anyway, I think I can wait a year. As the old Irish proverb says, 'Patience is a virtue.' Since I hear this from Casey on a pretty regular basis, maybe she actually has more Irish in her than I thought.
Other things going on include deciding on summer camps for kids. The discussion is based on prioritizing favorites and talking about what can we actually afford this year. They really love many of the camps and fun events they get to do at them, so we're going to make sure they get to a couple of them. Owen will get to go to language camp at Jack's school, so he'll be excited about that. I can't believe he's gong to be a big kindergartner next fall. Also, we are planning a couple of trips, by car only (no airplanes yet), to Wenatchee and Whistler. School is going well for Owen and Jack, both are amazingly fluent in Spanish. I love listening to them. Baseball starts soon too. Jack will be in kid-pitch and Owen will be doing T-ball for the first time.
I better go because I have to make some calls to the SCCA social worker, the SCCA business office, and Premera Insurance. They're a whole other story. What a pain in the you-know-what they've become. Oh well, thank goodness for Regence and COBRA. And, I can't say enough good things about the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) and every single one of the people I have met there!! You talk about people who are truly interested in helping people, and genuinely care about YOU, this is the place. So, I'm off to terminal hold with Premera customer service. Until next time, cheers and happy spring.
Take care. Mike
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