Woohoooooooo!

This, and most of the posts from me, is cross-posted from my Livejournal.

Suffice it to say the doctor's appointment yesterday went well. How well?

I've been moved from a weekly to a monthly appointment schedule and taken off all daily medications, allowed to go out into public with no mask, and told that in a month I can be relieved of dietary restrictions! That's right, people - one month to sushi!! YAY! Also, I'm having my Hickman catheter (basically a tube with three IV sites permanently implanted in my chest to make it easy to draw blood and give medications) removed next week - which means they anticipate not having to draw my blood or give me meds as often. YAY! The doctor accepted that I am never getting intrathecal chemo again. YAY!! She also said that I probably won't need any more bone marrow biopsies because I'm in molecular remission. YAY!!!

And the biggest news of all? I can go back to work! The doctor is sending me a note and I've decided two weeks is an appropriate time line. I was going to shoot for next week, but then I got the surgery scheduled so I'm holding off. I think I'll start going to the gym to get some stamina back. Even sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day is hard work when you're used to laying around...

This all sounds like great news, but it's not 100% rosy. I'm still going to be on what's called maintenance therapy starting next month. It's pill chemo for two years, and though it's not as strong as IV chemo, it will take something out of me. It also has the possibility of messing with my blood numbers, and for that reason some people choose not to do it. Because I'm in the best kind of remission the doctor went right out and said that she would be understanding if I took that option, but she wants to try it first. So we'll see how it affects me, and if it's intolerable I can just decline. Sounds good to me!

All in all, a great hospital visit.

So my mom went home yesterday. We got her to the airport for her early-morning flight and it was all I could do not to cry. I will really, really miss her. Although it was for a terrible reason, getting to spend so much time with my mom has been so good for me - and you need to be able to pull something good out of a situation like this. I realized how close Mom and I are, and we had so many great times. More than just having someone to help me, I am going to miss having someone to be with me though I'm happy that she gets to resume her life. So it's bittersweet that she finally gets to go home.

Teddy took today and yesterday off work and we've been hanging out. Hooray for getting to spend time as a couple! I have to admit, I have missed that a LOT, as much as I liked having my mom around. We spent yesterday hanging out, and today looks like more of the same. Ahhhhhh, life is good.