Health Update

It seems like forever since I have posted a health update. Months for sure. Now that I’m one year out from my stem cell transplant, I thought I should bring you up to date. This is strictly an update, a quick summary of how I’m doing so you’ll know how you can pray. Following this post will be another post, more of a reflection on what it means to me and Jenny to be moving forward while I’m in a state of remission that is qualified by the word, “temporary.”  

Remission  

The first 6 months of recovery since my transplant were tedious, at times harsh. The recovery seemed to be progressing so slowly for my impatient personality. But, last December before COVID gained a foothold, I was well enough to travel to California. Still, I ended up visiting the local ER when some symptoms I was experiencing went out of control. Grateful it wasn’t an overnighter.  A couple of months later, around early March, it seemed like I had truly turned a corner, feeling almost “normal” at times.   

When I think about my condition, I think in terms of what systems have been affected by the mutant amyloids. That would be my kidneys, gastro system, and heart.

Kidneys

Last week I met with my nephrologist who said, “See you in 6 months.” As far as he is concerned, my kidneys, while still damaged, are actually showing signs of improvement. The frequency of when your doctors want to see you is a good indicator of how you’re doing and how concerned they are. Just after being released from the hospital last year, my oncologist was insisting on weekly visits. Those were the days of not being able to get a blood pressure reading, ongoing vomiting, nausea, and gastro issues. A physical therapist visited me every few days to chart my progress for things like the number of times I could get out of a chair by myself.  

Gastro System

That would be my stomach and colon. I can say that I’m finally digesting what I’m eating. Finally! Previously, as healthy and nutritious as I might eat, if the food wasn’t being absorbed, I might as well have been eating fast food. My gastro system still requires prescription drugs to operate reasonably well. If I miss a dose even by a couple of hours, it might take me a day or longer to recover.

How badly damaged my gastro system is remains a guess. Another colonoscopy (the third in three years) will likely be necessary to reveal what condition it’s truly in. I’m not looking forward to this procedure since I needed to be awake for the last one. My heart wasn’t strong enough to put me under.  

Heart    

My heart condition is the biggest concern. Damaged, yes. But not getting any worse. The test result that identifies when someone is in a state of heart failure is the NTproBNP. A good number is in less than 230 range. Anything over 400 is a problem. Mine is 2600. I “stew” about it a lot (a polite way of putting it) since it limits what I can do physically.

The other lingering issues, neuropathy and osteoporosis, are side effects that most everyone deals with who have had chemo. Bummer, but something you learn to live with. My symptoms aren’t much to speak of. While they place some limits on what I can do, they aren’t life threatening. They’re in my “plus column,” a small price to pay for the gift of life I’m enjoying right now.

As you may remember, in one of my posts I mentioned I was thinking about writing a book. It’s started, but far from complete. No time like the present to get moving again since the present is all that we have anyway. In addition to praying for continued healing, please add that too.

Your prayers mean so much to Jenny and me. God has used them greatly.   

Curt

In Christ,