Day 51

Yes! Finally I'm on the other side of the, uh, hill? Why is that
GOOD, or even NEW news? Day 51 means that I've been at Vanderbilt
University Hospital for 61 days, and that I am over half way into my
100 day "watch and wait" after transplant. I still have to go to the
clinic, but I go only two days a week now unless complications arise.
The headaches are better, but not gone. The nausea is better, but
not gone. I have a few achy tendons, which are a nuisance because I
cannot take anti-inflammatory medicines--they mask fevers. My biggest
complaint is that my energy level is running a little low; that can be
frustrating, especially when I want to do more than I have the stamina
to do. They tell me that my energy will come back - something about
being patient...

Last week my caretaker was Imogene (aka Mighty 'Mo). We talked so
much that I forgot to take her picture slaving away over the kitchen
stove. For our break from chatting and eating, we saw Blue Valentine,
Ladies No.1 Detective Agency, and Hangover.

Pat comes every weekend. We watch movies, too. We've watched classics
from a friend's library--Vertigo, Tootsie, The Maltese Falcon, to name
a few, and one we'd never seen, A Night to Remember. We also watched
a good foreign film, Nowhere in Africa. Since I haven't been
interested in reading, it has been great to have movies to pass the
time and entertain. I am really ready for the Oscars this year.

This week I am "playing" with Leeann, who came on a big plane from
Jackson, WY. We are going to plan my next adventure to her little
piece of paradise. She brought a Yellowstone puzzle to get me in the
mood.

The posts have slowed because there is not much to report. Now it's
just a matter of perseverance and healing this drug-poisoned body. I
have done so well, but my little gripes and pains are just to remind
me how serious this procedure is and how lucky I am. Prayers can do
so much, and I thank you for continued prayers for my return to
energetic LIFE.