Thank you for all the support and encouragement on the last post. It felt good to be able to process and reflect. Your kind words and prayers and love are a huge inspiration to me. I will never be able to find a way to adequately express how much your compassion means to me. Thank you for caring about me. I know some of you in other capacities - I know some of you only through this blog - and in all cases, I am genuinely in awe that you care. Thank you. It is humbling. It is also healing.
As for where things are at with my health, the journey continues. I am back to work full time this week and that feels AWESOME! It is so good to be back and fully engaged and productive and creative. I like routine! I like waking up early and having morning time with the sunrise and my walking shoes. Truly - every day feels like a present.
Blah, blah, medical update for those interested: I got an injection over lunch today. I had done a course of a steroid called Dexamethosone. The hope was that it would work for up to a couple months. But it only worked for a couple days and then my count plummeted again. It was unfortunate that the positive impact didn't last for longer because it's a really strong steroid and I was taking a HUGE dose. But I guess I'm learning to "adapt" to the shifting winds of reality.
So hopefully the injection is helpful and can become a weekly, effective treatment. I will have a bone marrow biopsy on Monday over my lunch break (I guess that's possible?!?!). Hopefully it isn't painful..or too painful anyway. My hematologist said he isn't expected to find anything especially shocking...but he thinks we may find that I have a hereditary low platelet count + an especially aggressive form of ITP. Which would explain why my count drops so quickly and intensely sometimes. The treatment options wouldn't really be that impacted...but it would just be good information to have (I guess?!?!).
My hope is that wherever the ITP winds blow...I can set my sail in the way of peace. And eventually (hopefully very soon), my platelets will go back to being a tiny detail of my life and not the prime time show. Hopefully I can keep a normal life schedule and take care of treatments and tests before work and on lunches. I can't do the IVIG treatment anymore since it caused hemolysis last time, so that alleviates a lot of side effect woes.
So...overall...I'm healing. The serenity prayer is helpful....God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. There are a lot of things about my life that I cannot change right now...but there are some things I can change/control. I can get a good amount of exercise each day. I can treat my body well and my mind well by nourishing my brain with encouraging thoughts. I can sleep adequately. I can put in nutritious foods. I can take time to juice and make smoothies. I can laugh and pray and reflect. I can allow myself to cry when I want to cry. I can read good books. These are the things I can control. The rest...not so much.
I highly recommend that Serenity Prayer. For everyone. It's so good and applies to many life situations!
Here are some great links!
I highly recommend Rebekah as a stylist!
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