Day +162. My counts are still stable with the HgB at 11.5 g/dL, WBCs at 4.5 x10e9/L, ANC at 2.18 x10e9/L, platelets at 143 x10e9/L, the latter three all in the normal range. My body still doesn’t seem to like making RBCs, but it’s doing the best it can with elevated reticulocytes (RBC pre-cursors) at 100.5 x10e9/L.

Overall, my health is good, stable. I’m currently combatting a few graft versus host disease (GVHD) things like skin rash (which looks like goose bumps, everywhere) and some other things that have popped up since I’ve been immunosuppressed that I won’t get into. Lately, most of my focus and energy has been dedicated to getting back into physical and emotional shape. I can’t say that any part of this process has been easy, but the past few weeks have been pretty tough. I know I can run 5 miles or work out for an hour, but my body’s not fit enough for it yet, and this disconnect is super frustrating. As with any person who is trying to get back into shape, perseverance and commitment are crucial to achieving one’s goals, but I’m having a hard time drawing a line between laziness and overexertion. So, I’m learning to accept my current state and to press forward.

I’ll be returning to work in about a week, and I’m pretty excited! I’m ready to get back to a regular schedule and start doing more productive things with my time and my brain. I’ll be returning full-time, and I’m confident I’m ready for it. Hopefully all the yoga and outside activities I’ve been doing have prepped me enough! 🙂

If you haven’t noticed by now, I’ve been posted much less frequently than before. My motivations for this are two-fold: 1) because my health is stable, there is less to update friends and family with online; 2) I’ve been focusing on spending more time and energy on myself whether it be going out for walks, journaling, or spending time with friends. I will keep writing updates periodically as my condition improves (or worsens!), but I won’t be writing weekly anymore. I would like to take this time to thank you, dear reader, for your interest and time in reading and keeping up with this epic saga. I really can’t express how grateful I am for you, whether I know you or not, for putting forth your energy and existence into the universe; it really has helped me more than you know.