Hey there,

How are ya?!!  I’m sitting here watching “Criminal Minds” (I just can’t get enough of these crime shows!), and enjoying the fire (in the fireplace, of course).

I know you’re all wondering how my doctor’s appointment went today, and I won’t make you wait any longer!  It went very well.  I met with the head of the bone marrow transplant program in our area (he’s at my same practice), and he seemed quite happy with my numbers and progression.  My white count and neutrophils are up slightly, as are my hemoglobin and hematocrit.  My platelets are in the normal range, and that’s always encouraging!

He said that he thinks we can reduce my visits to once every two weeks, unless I get a fever or some sort of emergency (I don’t plan on doing that, by the way!).  The only thing that worried me was when he said I had a bad case of hirsutism…I got a little worried and asked him what “hirsutism” was, and was relieved when he said “unwanted hair growth”…relieved yet pissed at the same time!!  Anybody can look at me and see that I have eyebrows all over my forehead (OK, maybe I’m exaggerating…only slightly though), a mustache, hair on the side of my face, and even hair on my neck now!  It bothers me more than anything right now, as you know, so I’m constantly trying to remind myself that although I don’t feel attractive at all, my health is good, I feel good and within a couple months, the hair will be gone.  To be honest though, I just can’t wait to finish the cyclosporin and start losing the hair…even my arms look hairier (which explains why the band-aids hurt so much!!!).  By the way, the last couple of times, I’ve asked for the non-sticky wrap they can use instead of band-aids after drawing my blood, and they happily switched for me. 

Although nothing is for certain, and you can never predict the future, I admit that I got excited when my doctor told me that with the protocol I had for my transplant, there is no research on fertility, and the fact that I didn’t have more intensive total body irradiation (TBI) could give me a better chance of having children some day.  I asked him about this again because my menstrual cycle started, and I had been under the impression that perhaps I would never have one again, that I would go into early menopause.  I’m thinking good thoughts now, even though no one can give me an affirmative right now regarding fertility or sterility. I will never underestimate the power of the mind.

A good family friend, Norma, took me out to lunch today and to the doctor’s office.  I had a wonderful time, and I loved seeing Bayla, her dog, after so long!  Check out the photos below…isn’t she gorgeous?  Speaking of going out to lunch or to restaurants, my doctor does not think I should be going out to eat for a while.  This is a change from Seattle, but I completely trust him.  As he said, there is no need to risk my health just to enjoy a meal at a restaurant…you never know how clean a kitchen is unless it’s yours or someone you know.  He did OK trips to the movie theater at off times, namely matinees in the middle of the week.

All in all, it was a good appointment.  Now I’m sitting here with Guinness, and I’m tired!!  It’s only 9:39 PM…maybe I’ll get to bed at a normal time tonight….that would be nice!

Well, I hope everyone is doing well!!  Stay warm…it’s a chilly night out there (in Virginia, at least)!

Love,

Julie