Great news!!! I am home from the hospital and went to the clinic today. And I am what they call Engrafted, which means that my white blood cells are multiplying within normal limits. I still have almost all the restrictions that I’ve had since chemotherapy. But I have clinic visits only three days a week now, and will soon be discharged from the BMT team and go back to my primary oncologist for follow-up.
I am getting used to no hair. It’s honestly not quite as big a deal as I thought it would be. I like the soft scarves and it’s nice to not think about how to manage my hair. Last night I forced myself to just stare at my bald head in the mirror. That’s not quite comfortable yet. Honestly, the hardest thing I have to face with it right now is that the caps and scarves I use squeeze my ears against my glasses and make my head ache.
I’m still pretty fatigued, but I have enough energy to sit more than lay down, and I’m able to ride my recumbent bike for 15 minutes (no resistance and really slow) and do some stretching. It’s not much, but I’ll be able to build on it and eventually get stronger again.
All in all, I feel pretty good about my progress. It may be slow growing, but I’ll take every win I can get.