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So, what’s new? We had another day of visits to MSK in Manhattan yesterday. As usual we went on Thursday evening to feast and stay with other friends of ours, this time in Long Island City (hence the Manhattan view from the East in the picture). So, for the first time we took the East River Ferry (in one direction), and walked to Queensboro bridge (in the other). Even though the main purpose is medical, these bi-weekly trips are certainly great social events.
One visit was with my dermatologist. Since my skin improved so much (the various creams, possibly also correlated with the reduction of swelling in my feet and improvement in my neuropathic issues) , she “fired” me as well. It seems that I am done with all specialists, for now at least! Which brings us to my transplant doctor, who I will continue seeing for a while.
This meeting was especially positive. His evaluation of my immune system is basically that I am almost a normal healthy person. “Almost” means that my B cells are still lacking some functionalities, and also that I am still on immune suppressants that, well, suppresses the system. But still, he is completely OK that I go anywhere with people, says that I am not more at danger from Corona or Flu than most people my age (there are a few bugs that would still kill me much faster than it would most others, but these are hard to find). I still can’t eat raw meat or fish, but I can go down from well done steaks to medium ones – a huge improvement!
The next major step is another bone marrow biopsy, scheduled to the end of April. If the time till then goes well, and the results are good (cancer free, mature immune system) I will be able to start getting immunizations (baby ones, and flu) in the Fall.
It is amazing to me that my transplant was a mere 4 months ago, and I am where I am today. As my friend Ehud keeps reminding me, I should give more explicit recognition of the value of science and medicine to this transformation – Indeed, I am awed by what they can do! Needless to say, I am lucky enough to have an excellent health insurance, and a medical team of experts in one of the very top places in the word.
Another amazing thing is that from being a rare species in my environment with a mask on half the time, not hugging or shaking hands, and worried of catching a bug that can cause me serious damage or death, I am becoming part of a the normal behavior thanks (or no-thanks) to the Corona virus. People and experts differ greatly in opinion on this latest epidemic, but I think united in hope that we humans (especially science and medicine and political leaders, but also all of us) will be smart enough and responsible enough to deal with it as best as possible.