BLOG 57
29 May 2017
Hello to my faithful family & friends
You've all been on my mind a lot lately, as I know some of you read through my blog carefully to garner strength and coping strategies when life is tough for yourselves, in whatever you are facing and being challenged with. Usually, I don't blog, unless I have a major health set back, but to keep my blog up-to-date, I usually make sure I enter something at least once per year to let you all know that I am alive and well.
As some of you may know, due to my rejection disease (skin, mouth, throat, lungs & eyes) - I must take a lot of pills daily to keep my body from rejecting my new marrow. This is a similar process to a person with an organ transplant, who must have anti-rejection medication for life to keep their body from rejecting the new organ, it's the same with bone marrow. Even if I have the closest match available to me on the worldwide registry, I am essentially taking in a part of someone's body, that is foreign to me. Even though, you can't see my transplant on the outside of my body - I am often reminded that my body struggles, when I try to walk fast, carry anything of weight or have to work harder than normal, that I carry the DNA of another person from another part of our world.
Due to all the drugs I must take to keep my marrow and rejection disease stable, my immune system (over the course of a month) becomes weaker and more susceptible to infection. This is why I have to go to the hospital monthly to receive IVIG infusions of human Plasma every month. My Hematologists also checks to see how my body is generally. For example, recently I had a bout of gastro and could not get my stomach cramps under control. I ended up going to the ER via ambulance and staying in Hematology for about 5 days, until I was stable and ready to commence all of my regular drugs again. Then, in another fun episode recently, I contracted an upper respiratory infection, from a common cold that my daughter brought home from high school. I didn't end up in hospital, but the infection took hold quickly and I required very strong extra antibiotics and several GP visits. So, in many ways, although I am now not subject to blood cancer (currently) - I am permanently sick from rejection disease and susceptible to quick and easy infections and illnesses. Acquiring something like Pneumonia on top of GVHD of the lungs would be a disaster for me and would mean instant hospitalisation.
However, I would rather be sick and managed, then dead and not able to raise my kids or family.
My kids and husband are doing good and the girls are growing so, so fast - Anna has lost almost 10kgs and we are now really focusing on getting Julia's weight down to a healthier level. Both girls have struggled with this area of health over time and we have all as a family reduced the amount of food that we are consuming.
I want to encourage you, whatever you are dealing with in life. Take a page out of my book, keep busy and use your journey to inspire and help others around you. I feel it's a joy and a privilege to take to cancer patients regularly, via social media and on my monthly hospital visits. What an amazing ministry to have. I thank God everyday.
Thank you for reading,
Much Love,
Jodie & The Guerrero Family xx