Saturday, November 23, 2013

Really, Three Years?

Some folks have been wondering how I am, health wise. For the last 6 to 8 months I have been into the Dr.'s office every 2 weeks and the main indicator of progress is the blood test results and how I feel. Both of these are in the right direction and progress is measured by the month and not days. I have had a long battle with graft vs host disease (GVHD) right from the beginning while I was in the first days following the transplant. The donor's new cells and my old cells did not get along. They both see each other as foreign and therefore to be rejected, (actually a wonderful part of our amazing body's immune system). So immune suppressing drugs, like tacrolimus and steroids help with that. I have been able to be weaned from the steroids for awhile now but the tacro has been another story. I had been on 8 mg a day and gradually stepped down to .5 mg 2 times a week over a period of I year and 9 months because I would have symptoms of chronic GVHD, that the donor cells where still viewing my body as a foreign threat. LAST WEDNESDAY DR. KHOURI SAID WE CAN STOP THE TACRO. Will I be safe? We will have to watch for symptoms like, itching and usually on the legs in exactly the same places, sores in the mouth, nausea and vomiting, and just about any other things that are not part of the norm. The great part of all of this is that after about 3 years, from diagnosis to now, I can begin to have a healthy immune system. That's right 3 years and I am so thankful to be here, in the here and now. Thanks be to God!
 New International Version 2Peter 3:8
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.