So, I finally started writing a new post 10 days ago, but sputtered out and never got it out. I’m finally completing it this morning. Here it is:

Happy New Year! I’m happy to be moving into a fresh year of (hopefully) a lot of unexciting

medical news – normal and fine would be just wonderful, and so far that’s what I have encountered.

I’ve been slow to get back on here. In fact, I think it’s been close to 4 months. Unbelievable how time really flies by. Sometimes I think I have something to say and other times I think there isn’t anything interesting going on here. And then my mind can’t decide and I plop back down into bed – I’ll figure out if I have any words another day. . .

That’s probably not a totally inaccurate summary of the last 4 months. In fact, transplant

patients have a psych consult post-transplant, and my follow-up with the practitioner was yesterday. Before I left her, I asked her a question, “If I often want to stay in my pajamas and hang out in bed, is that normal?” (Some people I’d be really embarrassed to say that to, but she’s been doing (and loving) her job forever and is accessible 24/7.) She said it is absolutely normal after a transplant – and especially after 2 SCTs pretty much back-to-back. That took a weighty guilt off of me. Obviously, I don’t have the option to do that all of the time because I have responsibilities that I feel only I can do – and there are many times I feel almost normal.  I’m at 10 months post-transplant and she said give yourself 2-3 years and let others know this is how it goes.

I feel like I’m surrounded by a big team that keeps me upright and on the right path. I see a

Christian counselor who helps me talk through things and incorporates my faith, I’ll see my stem cell doctor at Vanderbilt tomorrow and get labs and a pneumonia-preventing breathing treatment, possibly some vaccines as well, I consider my hair dresser a part of my team (she’s good at naturopathic advice and taming my hair), then there’s the upcoming GYN, dermatologist and ophthalmologist facial plastic surgeon . . .  Maybe I just figured out why I’m tired. 🙂

Well, since our positive 6-month visit to MD Anderson, we’ve kept busy with kid stuff and holidays (and the appointments listed above).  Our oldest had a great first season on her middle school tennis team, at Halloween we had Spider-Man, a mime and Thing 1 out and about in our neighborhood to trick-or-treat, in November our first baby became a teenager!!!, we had the most delicious Thanksgiving ever at my parents’ house, in December Jonathan and I celebrated our 18th year of marriage with a nice dinner out

(while our new teenager babysat – all sorts of firsts!), we had a beautiful Christmas here at home (although it was the first time I remember having to run the a/c because it was so warm), we had our traditional Swedish Christmas Eve dinner and a traditional English dinner on Christmas Day, then Jonathan took the kids to visit his parents and brother’s family in Ohio, they returned for New Year’s Eve and we thankfully and cheerfully rang in the new year!

That sounds like quite a bit, and I’m positive I’m missing some big things.  Along the way the girls have attended middle school, our baby is in pre-K at a church preschool and I attend my many check-ups. My next scans will be at my 1-year anniversary in March, and thankfully I’ve had only minor concerns the last few months.  We still treat my skin and

liver for graft-versus-host disease, but they are very minor and steroid ointment, prednisone and other Rxes have kept it at bay.

My immune system continues to be suppressed, so I’m always on the kids to wash their hands and we try to avoid being around obviously sick people. The suppression is to prevent my new stem cells from attacking my organs. It looks like the timeline for suppression will be a long time out. That’s just part of my 20 prescriptions. Now that I think about it, I’m probably more likely to die from choking on my pills than dying from cancer. Weird humor I know, but that’s how we do it around here to get a few laughs in. And we have quite a few laughs in this house!