Nearly three weeks after my three month control check up, I finally got the official word that everything is OK.  I had my suspsions but it’s nice to have it confirmed.  My CAT scan was clean, the Epstein Barr virus number was next to nothing and all the other tests looked good.

Because I like to keep things intersting, while I was waiting for the results I developed some sort of rash.  A rash is one of the things they (the doctors) tell you to look out for because it can be a sign of Graft Versus Host disease (GVHD). That is when your body rejects the donor cells. (not good but treatable) The itch started last week, but because of all the Norwegian holidays last week, it wasn’t until this week that I could tell the Dr and it wasn’t until today that I could get an appointment to have it checked out.  Luckily the rash wasn’t spreading while I was waiting, just itching and irritering.  When I showed the Dr my rash he quickly identified a fungal infection and not GVHD.  I was much relieved.

Not that a fungal infection is something to be excited about but I’m guessing it’s better than the Graft Versus Host disease.  A little cream and some pills and I should be fine and itch free in a week.  Praise God.

I would like to give a big Thank You to my friend Jan-Martijn in the Netherlands for helping me solve my hair issues.  What a blessing!

That’s the news from here.  No GVHD, hair issues are in check and spring has finally sprung here in Norway.

I had my three month check up today (at the big hospital in Oslo).  It involved nine vials of blood, a bone marrow test, an ECG, a urine sample, a thorough examination, two questionnaires, an interview and an X-ray of my lungs, and the only concrete answer I came home with is that I gained a pound.

It will take several days for the answers to all the tests to come back, but based on the questionnaires, examination and interview, things seem to be looking pretty good.  They’ve lowered my daily pill intake from thirteen to seven, and I’m being weened off the immune suppressant that was giving me trouble earlier in my recovery.  Hopefully I’ll be medicine free by mid-summer.

So hopefully the whole lymph node / lymphoma episode is behind us and its smooth sailing from here.  I can start taking vaccinations this fall and May and I got the green light for our big romantic adventure next winter.  That’s the carrot that is getting this ass to pull the wagon.

In other news- The hair on my head is out of control.  When I say head, i mean my whole head, not just the top part.  On top my hair had grown back as thick as it ever was (which was pretty thick) but it’s all grey and white now.  I’m going to need to adapt to that.  My eye brows are not only growing long and thick but are slowly trying to come together in the middle to give me a unibrow. It takes quite an effort to keep the brow in check.  I have so much hair on my ears that I could double for the wolf man and the hair in my nose is so thick I can hardly breath.  The 5 o’clock shadow that used to take me a week to grow now appears the next morning after an evening shave.

The doctor says that at least the ear, nose and eye brows should go back to normal as I stop taking some of the medicines I’m on.  I was relieved to hear that, because I have never spent as much time in front of the mirror plucking and pruning as I have the past month.  I doubt I could keep it up forever and I would end up eventually looking like a Florida skunk ape.

Not sure why it’s all just happening on my head.  My legs are silky smooth.

All in all, it’s good to be me.  I had a much better (positive) feeling walking out of the doctors office today than I did on Friday.  I can see that things are moving forward toward the ultimate goal of me being completely healthy.  I feel good right now and have no reason to suspect that anything is wrong.  If things change as the test results come in, I’ll update it here. In the meantime please keep praying for and encouraging me.  It works and I am very grateful.  Thank you all.

I thought I would come with a quick update to let you all know that I think I’m doing OK.

I have my last Lymphoma treatment this Friday and then my three month control check up is on Monday (the 8th). I have no reason to suspect that anything is wrong, but then I have never suspected that there was anything wrong with me.  I’m not good at this game.  I’ll write another update next week when I know more.

The thing I am struggling with most right now is the weather.  When I woke up yesterday – on May 1st – it was 36 degrees (2 C) and snowing. That was about the 10th snow we’ve had since winter should have ended – over a month ago. They aren’t all big snows, and yesterday’s snowfall was gone by midday (thanks to all the rain we got) – but it weighs heavy on a tired old body – this optimist is losing faith in Norwegian spring, its just a seven month winter followed by a few months of constant daylight and then it’s back to school, shorter days and chilly nights again.  I don’t tackle the cold as well as I used too.

Annonsørinnhold

Vårens kuleste sneakers til henne

Enough complaining. Life is good. I feel good and am getting healthier. God is good.