Even Still I Will Worship

It’s a bit surreal to have the transplant journey behind me. The preparations, daily doctors visits, labs, and the like start to become your new normal. When those stop, I feel a little bit like a wondering child finding my new normal again. It’s a wonderful feeling at the same time, I am so enjoying being back home, in my own bed, in my own living room, and being independent again.

So what’s next?

I am free of doctors visits now until the 100 day mark! I don’t go back to check my progress until mid August. From there they will do a routine check up, including another PET scan to ensure that nothing is abnormal. This in essence will determine the success of the stem cell transplant. I have no doubt for good results!

Until then, I am still working on rebuilding my immune system and regaining my strength. I still need to wear masks in public places, reduce physical contact, practice safe hygiene and food practices to reduce my chances of getting sick. I have what is considered a baby immune system. It’s little, and still working on getting to 100% of what I used to have. Because my immune system was essentially “reset” during the stem cell transplant, most, if not all, of my previous antibodies to prior sicknesses are nonexistent. This means that my body has to re-learn how to fight common sicknesses that are all around us. It also does not recognize prior immunizations so I will have to redo my childhood vaccines 6 months to a year down the road.

After my 100 day appointments in August, I will likely get signed off from the transplant team and transferred back to my lymphoma team for regular check ups. To my knowledge this means follow ups every 3 months for the first year, then every 6 months, and eventually yearly to make sure that my cancer is not coming back.

What’s new on the job front?

Well, I applied to 3 jobs already, and had even gone through the full interview process for one of them, but eventually I was rejected by all three positions. I feel comfortable about it though because I was in the midst of my transplant journey and had little to no energy at the time. The job I was looking at was 4 days in the office, and would require a lot of running around the office getting things set up and assisting VP’s. I wasn’t feeling very confident I would have enough energy to do the job properly as they needed someone right away and I just wasn’t there yet. So it worked out when they decided to pursue other candidates.

After that, I talked with my transplant doctor and asked them when I am able to return to work. He highly suggested that I don’t return to work until after the 100 day mark in mid August as it is important to give my body the time and rest it needs to recover. It is also important to reduce risk of illness as well. So right now, I am still casually looking, but mostly trying to prepare and improve my interview skills. I will likely start applying for jobs again in mid to late July unless I see something really stand out to me. I know networking is key, so if you hear of any administrative assistant/executive assistant jobs, I’d love to hear about them!

That’s all for now

I won’t have as much updates for you for a little while, but I may still do some casual blogging until then. It gives me something to do while I am unemployed! I have a lot of free time now so I’m open to visitors as long as you are heathy! I’d love to see you! I can’t seem to end a blog post without saying “Thank you” but I am keenly aware of how important your support has been to me, It has been the biggest blessing and made the road I am on easier! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!