Day +365: Transplantiversary in Pittsburgh

Do you remember back when the titles of the posts in this blog counted the days from my transplant?  The whole world seemed to revolve around when we would reach Day +100.  Then the hundredth day came and went, and I still didn't feel all that normal.  The road back was so excruciatingly slow at times, that it was hard to get a big picture appreciation of how well things were moving along.

Well, at some point I started feeling normal again, and we stopped counting the days.

But for this post, the count is back for a very special date.  Today, March 27th, is the anniversary of my transplant.  A year ago today, having been beaten down by lymphoma, chemo, and a lot of radiation, I lay in bed at Sloan-Kettering and watched an infusion of Normy's bone marrow stem cells drip into my Hickman catheter.  

You've already read about the most difficult parts of that journey (I myself just went back and read some of those old posts... I'm already forgetting just how bad things were...) so here are some recent examples of things falling back into place now:

- At the end of September, almost exactly 6 months after transplant, I returned to work, albeit a temporary job.

- You've all read about the engagement!  Part of the reason for no new posts recently is that I kind of liked the idea of Alissa's smiling face staying at the top of this page for a while.

- In late January, a mere 10 months after transplant and a year and a half after that lump in my neck derailed all plans, I returned to Pittsburgh and once again began my hand surgery fellowship.  I'm doing the fellowship 100% full time, with no restrictions and no difficulty (beyond what every fellow faces!)  In just two months here, I've done over 200 surgical procedures, and I start my third rotation of the year on Monday.  The staff here was amazing to me while I was gone, working tirelessly on my behalf to get my position reinstated, funded, and accredited, allowing me to return.  I'm on a bit of an unusual calendar with my January start, but as soon as things worked out we all wanted to jump and take advantage of it and not wait until the beginning of the academic year in August.  I've waited long enough!  I'm now counting down the months remaining in my fellowship, which is a very different sort of anticipation.

- Dr. P, My transplant oncologist at Sloan-Kettering, helped me find her counterpart in Pittsburgh to care for me locally while I'm here (though she'll still be my main doctor out of New York).  We'll refer to him as Dr. A.  I saw him a few weeks ago, and he sent me on my way to the zillion 1-year-check-up tests that I need at this point.  I spent this week getting a new PET/CT, a nuclear medicine esophageal motility study, pulmonary function tests, a cardiac MUGA scan, a brain MRI, and culminating with my official anniversary visit with Dr. A this morning, where I was informed that all the testing was normal and I had a clean bill.

I'm doing well being back in ordinary day-to-day life.  Even though I've felt pretty well for a while now, it wasn't until I returned to Pittsburgh and fellowship that I felt I had at last been able to pick up where I had left off, and that feeling is tremendous.  I'm still not perfect.  I'd say I'm at 85-90%.  I've had no major complications, but the list of the little and bothersome remains more than a handful.  Most of the symptoms I have today are attributable to signs of chronic graft-versus-host disease, which is the major long-term problem of bone marrow transplants.  My hair has thinned considerably, I have some difficulty swallowing, my mouth and gums are sensitive, I have patchy dry skin, persistent neuropathy in my feet, and swollen edematous legs.  Enough things to remind me I'm not young and in perfect health anymore, but nothing severe enough to require any treatment.  Just careful monitoring and regular doctor visits.  The only medication that I'm officially on is a daily multivitamin, and even that I must confess doesn't actually happen daily.

As for Alissa, she is living with my mom back in Connecticut, kept close to NYC by her job.  Luckily, she has been able to visit often.  We spent Persian new year together here in Pittsburgh, with a tiny little haft seen.  And this weekend she's back for the transplantiversary celebration.

We celebrated with a nice dinner out at restaurant ELEVEN, one of Pittsburgh's finest and just a few blocks from our apartment.  Chef Derek Stevens made a special tasting menu for the two of us, which was delightful.

So that's my one year anniversary, and everything that's been happening recently.  

There's a fun little wedding coming up in less than two months, so you might anticipate hearing news of that on this blog.  But otherwise, it's back to normal life and not much to report here!

Comments

[Brian]

This is the happiest blog post I've read in a long time. Happy anniversary!

[Aggie]

This was very fun to read!!! Couldn't be happier for you!

[Arian]

Just checking this after a long time and am so glad to hear how well you are doing. But not surprised either.. you're so determined and stubborn! Wishing you all the happiness that your bright future in good health and with Alissa promises.