Stem Cell Transplant Blog 25 days after Transplant Check-up Day!

Good News and Challenges!

Hello readers.

Well, last Tuesday Feb 22 was my Check-Up day at the Hospital where I got my Transplant. It was a long day. 6 1/2 hours at the Hospital and 5 1/2 hour drive! Man was I tired when I got back.

On a personal level it was a Fantastic day. Every time I go to the Hospital I don't really think about the appointment itself but "What can I do to either make people laugh or change their mind about Cancer"

I succeeded at both! First I asked my wife to draw a big smile with a tongue sticking out on my mask. Had to where one, might as well use it! Got lots of laughs and smiles from that. But still wanted to do more. And it came to me on it's own! After one hour sitting down in the waiting room, a gentleman sat right front of me. He stared at me for a while. I thought it was the mask but after a while he just blurted out to me "How long have you had this?" 8 years I replied. Then he rolled his eyes and sighed deeply. His second question was "What was your first prognosis?" 6 months to 1 year 1/2 I told him! He shook his head staring at the floor again. Then he told me that he had some kind of incurable form of Melanoma and they told him he had only 4 to 6 months to live a year ago. He had tried Chemo but it didn't work, so he went on a trial Protocol and...it worked. He told me that he was so sure he was going to die shortly that he took an early retirement but instead of a monthly paycheck he took a lump sum and almost spent it all...! I asked him to show me where he had his expiration date tattooed? He stared at the floor again saying he wasn't too proud of himself about that. To make a long story short, after talking with him for about 15 min. His name was called out, he stood up, shook my hand and thanked me for changing his mind about Cancer and said that he would make an appointment with his financial advisor to make at least a 3 year plan with what he has left.

Lesson to be learned her for all of you Cancer Fighters: Do not listen to Prognosis. You do not have an expiration date written anywhere! Keep Fighting with all you have.

I have a Twitter follower named Madison  Carlista who was diagnosed with Advanced Cervical Cancer with a Prognosis of 3 to 6 months..... That was 9 years ago! So, Never give up! And get a second opinion if you don't like what you hear!

So now, what about the rest of my Check-Up day:

Blood work results were pretty impressive according to the head Nurse and the Oncologist. The Check-Ups are suppose to be weekly for a few months after the transplant. But since everything (Almost) is OK with no nausea or diarrhea my next appointment is in 6 weeks! Whooohooo!

Now for the Challenge: Well my heart isn't doing so well for now! Blood pressure too low and heart rate way too high. Example: Blood pressure this morning 90 over 53! Heart rate at rest 105, Showering 147, getting dressed 125! So I was told to consult with a cardiologist ASAP. But here ASAP can take a while. I finally got an appointment whit a GP next week who will then refer me to a Cardiologist. Until then I was told not to even go for a walk outside. "I still do it anyway but not for very long and always accompanied" It's just to catch some Sun and see the River!

Low Blood pressure on the long run can affect all your organs from the lack of oxygen. Right now it's affecting my eye sight quite a bit. My prescription glasses don't work anymore and I'm constantly squinting so Even Blogging is an effort cause I can hardly see my screen!

But as I wrote, it's just another challenge for me. It's a problem so automatically there has to be a solution.

At least I'm at home and I don't have to go back to Montreal for 1 month and 1/2!

My next post will be about tips and tricks I found but for now that's all the energy I have and my eyes are killing me!

Thanks for reading.

Never give up and Keep Fighting!

Yvon