[Gloria J]

After I had my ATG treatment, I took an anti-viral med for three months. I did not eat anything that was not cooked for almost two years, I was that spooked about food poisoning. I was not cleared for gardening work until my ANC hit 1.5. Even having fresh flowers in the house (after ATG) was not allowed. I was warned about fungal and mold problems from the soil also. Although, it did seem to be okay to keep existing house plants around (I'm guessing because I had always been around them).

Not being able to garden last summer was tough - I ended up hiring a college student to do my weeding and planting, and enjoyed the fruit of her labors. This summer, I've been out there myself, but always with heavy gardening gloves on.

Another good reason to keep track of your counts, especially the WBC and ANC. Sometimes it's not easy with all of the restrictions imposed by an immunosuppressant regime, but the alternative (having to fight off an infection with less-than-impressive white cell counts) definitely makes it easy for me to say 'no' to a lot.