I feel like it has been forever since I have written and I definitely notice that I am not writing to you all as frequently lately. My days are filled with other things that often have me outside my house, which is great in some respects but tiring as well. My energy is improving everyday and I am really enjoying doing some of the things I have missed throughout my series.
I spent much of the weekend in a cold rink coaching which has left me a little tired but quite motivated to keep progressing. While I am still progressing lately I have been hearing some stories regarding other patients and their setbacks. It seems as though there really isn’t any specific time when you are considered “out of the woods”. I do know that the two year mark, after transplant, is quite significant in my case as a Leukemia patient, but many of the articles I have been reading lately do not paint a very positive picture of Leukemia. For example, the Leukemia Research Fund of Canada’s website talks about patients achieving remission for “up to five years, and more”, which is good but certainly not great. For the first time in my series I will begin to search for patients who were where I once was. I do know deep inside that WHEN I live another 50 years I won’t be the first Leukemia patient to do so, but at the same time I think I would find a lot of comfort in knowing that patients are living great lives many years after achieving remission and their transplant.
For some reason or another, most probably because of the stories I have heard lately, I have been thinking about the real possibility that I could relapse at any time. It is something that I have been living with since I achieved remission in December 98, and something that crosses my mind every now and then. I feel that is normal and that most every patient probably has the same thoughts, but once again that isn’t necessarily much comfort sometimes.
Having said that I want you all to know that I have no plans of returning to the hospital in the patient capacity other than for my normal check-ups. I haven’t spent a night in hospital since leaving in September and I have every intention of keeping it that way. I will do my best to write more frequently and give my regular flashes inside my head. Hope things are going well with you and more will follow.
Take care,
Geoff
#4
