Day +151 Post Transplant.........MS symptoms flare

Today is day 151 since my stem cell transplant. Exactly 5 months to the day. My recovery had been going about well as possibly hoped for until about a month a half ago. Things have headed south for my recovery and is finally beginning to plateau. Hopefully I can begin progressively moving in an upward trajectory again.

As I prepared for discharge from Pirogov Medical Center in Moscow I met with Dr. Fedorenko. He instructed me to exercise, eat well, maintain a positive mood, and keep stress levels to a minimum. Well I think we all know that we have control over all of these things with the exception of the last item. Have been exercising, stretching, walking and such to keep my body healing. Over the last few years my diet has included eating lean meats, more fruits and veggies. So it is not cumbersome for me to maintain a healthy menu. As a bonus I love to cook and am always on the prowl for new recipes. Feel that in general I am an optimistic person and say that because its been told to me by many people over the years. The last item, stress, has been the problem for me.

Sometimes life will throw a curve ball at us. No matter how well you try to control the stress, it still overwhelms your well being. Divorce is one of the most stressful things people endure and for the recovering HSCT patient is a bane to our recovery. My wife moved out of the house and into a rent house March 6. Of course the stress has caused my MS symptoms to flare and likely put a whammy on my immune system. This issue is one concern that cannot be ignored. Just within the last couple of weeks the HSCT community has been rocked with at least three deaths that I am aware of. We lost a warrior in Moscow who was still in treatment with a complication from the chemo. Two warriors lost their battle with this terrible disease to infection, even though they were 9 month and 12 months post transplant. Our immune systems are still in its infancy state and that makes us quite vulnerable to infection. It will take a full year to 2 years to have a totally reconstituted immune system post transplant. I am being very vigilant with my hygiene to ensure, as much as possible, I do not end up with an infection that has a chance of turning into sepsis. In my opinion sepsis is the most common cause of death for HSCT patients, I have not seen stats to know for sure.

This divorce will likely come as a total surprise to many of my readers. For many in my inner circle they were completely aware of my marital issues prior to my transplant in November 2016. The original treatment date was set for the end of April 2016. It was cancelled and rescheduled to November. At the time I did not blog the reason why, I just simply noted that it was postponed. The unfortunate truth is that three weeks prior to flying to Moscow for the transplant I was served divorce papers. There was no choice but to cancel and reformulate a support group. However the new support group proved unnecessary as my wife agreed to attempt with reconciling the marriage. Obviously to no avail.

What I want to share with my audience is that Dr. Fedorenko is spot on when he told me to manage my stress levels. Stress has been hugely negative for my recovery. I've talked to several HSCT veterans and we all are in agreement that stress needs to be maintained to as low of levels as possible. Life happens and we are not always in control of the stressful events that get thrown our way. Lately I have been employing coping strategies to bring down the stress and get into a calmer place. My blood pressure has dropped to normal levels again. Been keeping busy to pass the time and not dwell on things that I cannot control. These are some of the things that are in my control and am having some success in this regard. Will need to find some health insurance and it may mean new doctors as my insurance coverage was through my wife's employer. Keeping my fingers crossed that does not cause a total upheaval with my medical team.

All things being equal I really owe so much to Dr. Fedorenko and the entire team in Moscow. Without the transplant, and the gains in recovery that I have experienced, I really do not know what life would be like for me at this time. I will persevere through this horrible experience and be better off for it when the divorce is over. Made a commitment to myself that going forward I am to encircle myself with happy, loving, caring, and  selfless people. HSCT has absolutely given me a second chance on life and am going to make the most of it.

Wish the very best for my HSCT family with their recovery and pray that your recovery is smooth and plentiful. Control what you can and manage what you can't. Your HSCT family is here for your support when you need it. Reach out to me if I can be of help to you. Warriors have been here for me and love them very much for it. Feel very gratified that people from around the world have and continue to keep in touch with me.  I'm very blessed for the support from my family, friends, and HSCT family.