Slowly But Surely

I've been home going on four weeks now and things are going pretty well. Last Friday, I met with my Stanford doctor as part of my one month post-transplant visit. Though I had only been home for less than three weeks, they count from the day of the transplant and not when I was discharged from the hospital. Everything was fine. He was very happy to see my progress (and so was I) and all my counts were pretty much back to within the normal range. Because I was progressing so well, he said it was okay for me to go outside now with just a normal mask and not the hepa mask, and it was okay for me to eat take-out food again. This was really good news - the fact that was able to go outside and take walks around the lagoon again. I was starting to get cabin fever with having to be inside the house all day long and not even being able to open any doors or windows. I still had several more months of recovery to go. I still can't do a lot of other activities such as gardening, golfing or swimming and he cautioned me to stay away from large crowds and anyone that might be sick. Since my immune system is still new and getting stronger every day, I'm not able to get any vaccinations such as a flu shot for a year. That also means even if there is a vaccine for Covid-19 early next year, I'm not able to get that either until after my 1-year mark, so I'll still have to be very careful and vigilant in practicing good hygiene habits and social distancing. He also said I should ease back into work which I replied, "oh don't worry, I plan to wait the full six months it takes to recover and then start looking for a job after that." I'm in no hurry to get back into work; I can extend my disability for up to a year and that's what I plan to do as my health is more important than getting back into the workforce. 

It wasn't all good news though. Even though I'm able to eat take-out food again, he said that I should stay away from consuming raw food so that means having to wait another two months before I'm able to eat sushi again. He also said "I hate to be a party pooper" but that also means staying away from having a glass of wine until 3 months post-transplant. What a bummer! Oh well. I've made it this far...I can wait a few more months to celebrate over a nice glass of wine and eating sushi (not necessarily at the same time but I have done that on occasion much to the chagrin of some of my high-class foodie friends). 

All-in-all, the visit went well and I was pleased to hear of my progress. This past weekend, I got back on track with resuming my daily walks again and was accompanied by some of my friends (pics below). It had been close to 6 weeks since I had been on these walks and I definitely soaked up the experience-- I had missed the smell of fresh salty air from the bay, seeing people fishing from the water, other hikers and bikers passing by, and the sounds of the egrets and ducks on the lagoon. It was great to be back. 

I'm not 100% normal yet. I get fatigued in the afternoon and have to take a short nap after lunch, otherwise I'm exhausted the rest of the day. My face has this tingly sensation every now and then when I touch it. My doctor didn't know what that was but told me to continue to monitor it and if it doesn't go away in a few weeks, then they can run some tests for our next visit. It seems to be okay the last few days. But other than that, I feel pretty good. I'm glad that I'm able to resume most normal activities and that's a good thing. I've still got about another 4-5 months for a full recovery but slowly but surely, I'll get there. I have a feeling in my case, I'll get there faster than the average recovery. After all, they said I should expect to be in the hospital 3-4 weeks and I was out of there in 17 days and they said I may have to stay indoors for up to two months and I was able to go outside again after the first month. I don't want to just recover. I want to thrive and succeed and be 100% healthy for a very, very long time.