Revenge of the Hair

I took this picture a few days ago.  I’ve missed the beach so much!

I can’t believe my last blog was September 2nd!  Needless to say, it’s been a rough six weeks.

 However, I am happy to say that this is the best I’ve felt probably since March.  Not that I remember too much…my short term memory has been affected greatly by all the medication they have me on.  I’m like 10 second Tom from the movie ’50 First Dates.’  However, I’m happy to say this is the best I’ve felt probably since….wait, I said that already didn’t I?

Transplant day was what my doctors call Day 0.  And I can’t believe we’re already on Day 80.  My head is spinning because it seems like time has moved so fast, yet has felt like an eternity at the same time.

We are almost to Day 100 which is considered a milestone.  My risk of acute graft versus host disease and infection is going down daily as my immune system and blood counts continue to recover.  I’m going to the clinic 3 days a week which basically makes it feel like my parents and I all have a part-time job.  The one good thing that’s happening right now is that some weeks they only need to see me 2 days out of the week.  We get very excited when that happens!

And the next milestone after that is 1 year.  Please God give me the strength to make it there.  Because I had a cord blood transplant, I will need all of my immunization shots again.  We all joke that I’m a big baby right now since we got my blood from an umbilical cord.  That being said, here’s my PSA — Momma’s please donate your baby’s umbilical cord after you give birth!  You may very well save a life!

Pills Pills Pills
My meds are insane.  We have charts around the house and 3 pages of schedules.  They dictate my life right now. Some days I get so angry at the fact that I have to take pills from 6am until 11pm.  I take roughly 30-40 pills on any given day.  It also leaves such an odd taste in my mouth.  So I now have a sweet tooth that does its best to get rid of the horrible taste left in my mouth.

But the main subject of conversation around the house is my BUTT, or the lack thereof.  It’s the weirdest looking thing.  Not to mention, I’m just too skinny.  It doesn’t look right on me.  I always wondered what I would look like little.  Now I know and I want my old body back.

As mentioned in previous blogs, I’m pretty much a prisoner in my own house along with my parents/caregivers for now.  But we got the permission from our Dr’s. to go to a beach last week as long as we stayed away from crowds. It was breathtaking.  I had forgotten how beautiful it was.  We walked along the beach and it was amazing with the sand between my toes. We grabbed lunch at Coconuts, and did a little shopping.  We all deserved this trip so much.  I was still very much gremlin (with all these rules) like with all the snacks, pills, clothing, plenty of water, etc…

Hair, Hair Everywhere!
I’ll end today with something terribly embarrassing and that I’m not very happy about.  The first few days after the transplant, I lost most of my hair.  I had no eyebrows or lashes and we had already shaved my head.  After 6 or 7 rounds of chemo and radiation, I’ve spent most of the year wishing to have my hair back.   But, now I’m realizing I need to be careful what I wish for.

I was told that it would take 5-6 months before my hair would come back.  However, one of the transplant anti-rejection drugs I take has hair growth as a side effect.  This is a double-edged razor.  I didn’t know what to expect.  But I didn’t have to wait too long to find out.

What do I love?!  My long, dark, and thick eyelashes.  My brows grew overnight and I had one of my best friends shape them so they look great.  And the hair on my head is looking great.

What do I not love?!  The hair everywhere else that has decided to grow.  For instance; the dark peach fuzz hair on my face.  Or how about the hair going down my neck and chest.  Oh wait, I know.  It’s the hair going down my back.  Lovely, as if fighting leukemia isn’t enough, I’m turning into Cousin It.  Perfect.

Thank you everyone for reading and staying engaged in my never ending story.  Through the good and the bad times.  I’m trying to remember, as we all must do, life is a comedy or a tragedy depending on your view.  Regardless, always laugh.  I laugh/cry every time I look in the mirror!