Surprise, surprise

Over the last several weeks I have developed a much deeper understanding of my body and how it works, and I have learned to be able to discern when things begin to change, whether that is for the better or the worse.  I don't know that I have ever been this aware of what is going on inside of me, but going through this bone marrow transplant process has been very enlightening in many respects.

After the high dose chemotherapy, the subsequent death of many of my fast growing cells, and the transplant of my stem cells back into my bloodstream, many of my blood counts and blood chemistries fell far below the levels considered minimums for the continuance of life itself.  Drugs, antibiotics, blood transfusions, platelet infusions and electrolytic supplements kept my body functioning in spite of itself, until it had reestablished the capability to produce all of these by itself.  It took somewhere between 7 and 10 days for this capability to return.

The last several days have been spent letting my body rebuild and regenerate.  Gradually my daily blood test results have indicated that my bone marrow has been recreated, and is functioning to reestablish the building blocks I need to improve from here.  Slowly, but steadily, my counts have been climbing and my need for supplements has been falling.  My body is working harder than it ever has, around the clock, to maintain and rebuild.  So while the numbers have been increasing in amazing proportions, I am constantly in a state of total exhaustion.  In time, when my body has a chance to ease off a bit, I should begin to notice an increase in my energy level.  But first things first - I'll just be taking a few extra naps along the way.

The human body is an amazing and wondrous creation, and the One who created it, in all of it's glory, has been with me through every second of this transplant process.  By His hand I am being rebuilt and restored.  I have seen so vividly, during this entire process, that being able to rest in His love and His grace is of such monumental importance.  Having a close and abiding relationship with Him, BEFORE stepping into the fiery furnace, is so terribly important.  That relationship is not something that can be put off until the last minute.

This morning I went to the clinic for my usual daily lab tests,  expecting to hear that I needed a few supplements.  Instead, I was informed that I needed only a slight dose of magnesium and was free to return to our apartment.  Further, if tomorrow's lab results are as good as today's, I will be discharged from the transplant program and free to return home. Holly and I can hardly contain our excitement.  Our original target date for being able to return home was next Tuesday, so we are running almost a week ahead of schedule.  Praise The Lord!!

Much remains ahead in terms of followup visits and reassessment testing, but to say that we have reached another major milestone is to understate the obvious.  God is so good.