Today I graduated from the transplant program. Yeah! Everything continues to go well. All my counts continue to go up. I'm getting one more bag of platelets this morning to get me up over the magic 50 number which means I will also get my central line out today as well. It will be another few months of being very careful about getting exposed to infections so I'm not back to being completely normal in terms of immune system function. The chemo really blasts your bone marrow so even though I've gotten back my own stem cells my immune system is still fragile because of the damage done to my bone marrow bye the chemo. Looks like I'll be able to get back on the bike late nex week which will be really awesome.
The nurses were a bit concerned when I reported that my heart rate was 172 after my run yesterday. So maybe a little more caution on pushing the cardio engine is in order. Te other big freedom enabled is that I've been cleared to drive! That'll be huge.
Mnaih!
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Awesome! I'm sorry I missed the bike outing yesterday. It would be a day I didn't bike commute in to work :-(.
ReplyDeleteGraduation!! Congratulations!! Why it seems like just yesterday you were reborn, oh how quickly you've regrown up... I'm glad you'll have your blog to look back on, as you've gone through this journey in a way that I highly admire, that inspires me, and wrings out way more smiles and laughs than a cancer blog should (but really this is a life blog with the cancer as a foreign irritant that you've wrapped a pearl of a life around)... what's next??? oh right, driving... yikes!! Hopefully you'll go a little lighter on the accelerator pedal than you have on the other parts of your recovery.
ReplyDeleteEric (via Kari)
Go Dad go! Ditto on the inspiration and evocation of smiles and laughs; and some tears too...happy ones though...SO glad to hear you are back to being feisty!
ReplyDeleteYup, feisty is good! Out for a hike today with Susan and the pod. The life journey continues, one feisty moment at a time. Eric and Kari, keep up the good work! Looking foward to seeing you complete the ABVD journey and start to feel better. You guys rock!
ReplyDeleteOutstanding! And maybe take a more measured approach to the fitness? 172 heart rate?! - yes - maybe the health care professionals are right? I am thinking that you can wait a few months to steepen your curve on fitness? Sorry to nag!
ReplyDeleteah, the voice of reason. I would listen to you, but I can't; all I can hear is the rushing of blood in my ears as my blood pressure skyrockets, heart rate goes through the roof, arms and fingers getting tingly, blacking out from hypoxia, uh-oh!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, though - point taken. The 172 burst was only for about 20 seconds at the end of the run. I'm keeping my bike training at around 130-140 and the running to < 160. The workouts are helping in lots of ways (GI happiness, appetite, sleep pattersn, cardio-pulmonary recovery) - just got to keep it in perspective. Something I struggle with as you well know :)