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Old Tue Nov 5, 2013, 01:23 AM
Tii Tii is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 22
Hello

Susan, hello, I was working full time until the 4th of December and then on 5th of December I was at the hospital at 7am getting platelets for my port surgery and then checked in at the transplant department after that. Staying busy, being at work with friends kept my mind strong and pre-occupied from worrying etc.
My doctor estimated that I would maybe, maaaaaybe go back to work in July, and I ended up going back in August. Currently I work 4 days a week, 5 hours a day, but I am going to increase the hours to 8 hours a day very soon. I am restricted to be in the office setting only and around up to 3 people.
Going back to work has been the only one thing I wanted the most during this recovery time. I hung my work shirt on the cabinet door so it was the first thing I saw when I woke up, motivating me to get better. And it worked

Hi Heather,
My only sister was my donor, she went through a very hard time with all of this. I think she was far more emotional and scared than I was. She had to do the cell harvesting two times and unfortunately they couldn't get enough cells, so they had to do the hip puncture. She was poked 150-200 times on each side and stayed at the hospital for one night. My transplant was frozen bone marrow/stem cells, that were forced into my port, rather than a bag of blood like the preparation book said. I also had a bad reaction to it, because my sisters red blood cells had survived the freezing and her type B reacted immediately with my type O blood. My whole stay ended up being 6 weeks and I was staying in the same room that she had. That must have been a sign, that she was with me all the time.

The sun rays are radiation, and can be very harmful for transplant patients. I first thought that it was so we wouldn't be sunburn, but like antibiotics, the anti rejection medicine comes with warning labels to stay away from the sun. It is serious. Therefore I still cover up with long pants, long sleeves and I spray SPF50 on my neck and head. Now finally that I have some hair and don't have to wear a scarf, bandana, wig or a baseball cap. My other transplant friend was told to stay away from the sun for at least two years. I have always been a beach bum, and the thought of not going to Mexico is sad, but I'd rather live a longer life than risk it.

So how are you, as a care giver handling all of this? What scares you the most?
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