Day +112

Its been a good week and I'm continuing to do well. I'm home alone right now, and I think thats a sign of my progress. Kate and Isaiah took a trip up to her home in New York this week, which is great since she hasn't been able to get back there in a long time because of this situation. Having my health in a place where it doesn't feel uncomfortable for me to be on my own is a great thing.
So I had a dental appointment at NIH this morning at 9:00. That was a good thing, because the regular clinic visit was sped up to fit me in, and there wasn't a lot of waiting around. The rash on my face, chest, and back continued to clear up and its hard to really see it now. I explained that I do continue to itch at times, and occasionally have a sensation on my skin that feels like pin pricks. Both of these issues are around my chest and upper back, so they are in the same spots I had some of the rash earlier. The doctor gave my skin a good look, but really couldn't see much.

The other sign of GVHD that the transplant team had noticed was in my mouth. My mouth has felt dry at times over the past week, but I probably wouldn't have even noticed it if I hadn't been aware to notice it. I am definitely aware of a couple of sores that have developed under my tongue. One doctor felt the inside of my cheek was improved, so she thought it was somewhat good that my dental consult was today. Having the sores gives the dentist something a little better to look at.

So the dentist played around inside my mouth and took a bunch of pictures to document what it looks like. She explained that both the inside of the cheek and the sores under the tongue look like minor GVHD. She noted that I had a lot of saliva and that my gums appeared in good shape. Those were two positives in terms of the GVHD. I was prescribed a steroid cream to apply to the affected areas. She felt that should do a good job of clearing things up, and I'll follow up with her in three weeks.

Other than the issues that point to some GVHD, I seem to be doing great. My neutrophils and the rest of my blood work came back normal. My energy is up and I've got no complaints at all right now. Thanks to everybody for their recent support, and I hope everybody enjoys their Easter weekend coming up!