Day +50. All of my counts continue to rise! Hgb broke 12 today at 12.3 g/dL, platelets at 185 x10^9/L, ANC at 1.53 x10^9/L, and WBCs at 4 x10^9/L. I’m getting suuuuper close to getting into the normal range for all of the cell types! I’ve just gotta keep climbing. Thanks for the support Miley!
The mild GVHD rash on my face and torso have finally cleared after a week of religiously applying a topical cream twice a day. I no longer have body aches or major fatigue, which is amazing. I’ve developed some congestion in my right ear which limits my hearing, but I’m taking a few medications to try and clear that up. All in all, I’m doing pretty well and my body is happy. 🙂
In other news, I’ve been keeping myself busy doing Christmas. I handmade 80 cards (thanks to Paper Source), as well as five different kinds of Christmas cookies (sugar, ginger molasses, raspberry almond thumbprint, chocolate peppermint crinkles, and mexican wedding cookies). It’s amazing how much you can do when your body is able to efficiently oxygenate itself with an abundance of red blood cells!
As the new year rolls in and I approach day +60, I’ll be going down to once a week appointments from twice a week. We’ll also be checking the chimerism once more to see if the graft is stable (vs. last time). If the chimerism results come back positive, my mom will be free to go back home! Since I’m fairly independent and able bodied, I won’t need a caregiver 24/7. That doesn’t mean, however, that I’ll be able to go back to life as it was. I still have to take all the same precautions as before (e.g. being careful about what I eat, always washing hands, avoiding crowds as much as possible), but I’ll at least be able to take care of myself more.
I have loved having my mom here and I know she’s enjoyed taking care of me again. It’s been so great to spent this time reconnecting with her since I left for college. I do realize though that she has roles to fill back at home and the sooner she can go back, the sooner things start to feel normal again. I’ll definitely miss all the homemade Korean food, but I’m getting well enough to start cooking for myself. I’m glad we’ll be able to spend Christmas and New Year’s together though. 🙂
The Bald Heme-iola 
This is such wonderful news! 😀 😀 😀
Happy holidays!!! 2016 will be a whole new start.
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Dear Min, this is fantastic holiday news! I am so happy for you, and relieved that things are going so well. You deserve to have a fabulous holiday season. Wishing you all the very best.
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