It’s hard to believe that it’s been
three whole years since Ray was going through the process of preparing for his
bone marrow transplant that occurred on May 10, 2013. We are thankful he made
it through it and successfully came to the point he is at now. There isn’t much
he can’t do now days. He is off all but one of the many meds he used to be on
as a result of his transplant. His doctor wants to keep him on the med that
hopefully will prevent him from getting shingles.
The good news that I want to share
with others that might be facing a similar procedure is that there can be a
full life after a transplant! Sure there were times when we wondered about that
but time has dispelled that worry. Ray feels great! He is very active again,
sometimes to the point I worry a little bit. But then I seem to be a worrier by
nature. I still get anxious when he gets even a scratch or into too much dirty
stuff. He’s back to his old self playing tennis three days a week, gardening,
hunting, golfing, shuffling, attending the grand-kids many activities, etc.
There’s no slowing him down now!
Ray feels good too. He has his
healthy appetite back. And he has just now begun to drink an occasional beer
when out socially with friends. His hair never did come back in like it was.
There’s hair there but it’s so fine & sparse that he must keep it shaved to
keep from looking like a duckling.
Do we ever relax and think his cancer
can’t come back? Well no, the thought is always in the back of our minds but we
don’t worry about it. We often wonder where he would be today if he had not had
the bone marrow transplant and had let nature take its course. Would he still be alive? Would he be feeling
really weak and bad? Or would he still be feeling fine? We wonder because when
he was first diagnosed with MDS (Myelodysplastic Syndrome) he had no outward
symptoms. He felt perfectly fine. It was his annual blood work that alerted the
doctor that something was terribly wrong and then the bone marrow biopsy
confirmed it.
From that point on things moved
rapidly to get help to cure him before it was too late to do anything about it.
Had he waited he might not have been a candidate for a transplant. After a certain
age they tend to not put a person through it because it’s a very difficult
thing to go through. Plus you must pass numerous medical tests to be assured
you are fit enough to endure the many possible complications that could occur.
So yes, we are indeed thankful to be
where we are today. Alive and enjoying retirement together.
