Today is my 1st Re-Birthday!
Hello, Case Cured crew! After weeks of illness in our house (norovirus and another hospitalization for me, then Caroline got the flu), today is cause for major celebration. ONE YEAR ago today I received my life-saving bone marrow transplant! That's right, March 22nd is my "re-birth"day, and today my new immune system is a year old.
To illustrate just how far we've come, I thought I'd share a few throwback photos. To those who don't do well with icky medical photos, maybe scroll past the ones of the tumor on my forearm (coming up next).
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The tumor, then and now:
The hair, then and now:
(still patchy, yay for wigs! still have some chipmunk cheeks from steroids)
With my best girl, then and now:
What I was up to then:
What I'm up to today:
CELEBRATING! I'm spending the day with friends and family to celebrate this HUGE milestone in my recovery. I'm also very much looking forward to returning to work, which looks like it will be the beginning of May.
In the meantime, I'm thanking my lucky stars for many things--my family, my medical team, health insurance, modern medicine, miracles, the willfulness and stubbornness God gave me, and last but not least, my support system--YOU! I cannot begin to describe what a gift you've all been in our lives, especially over the past year and a half.
Today I am a little less cynical, a lot more empathetic, a bit more patient, and have a renewed faith in humanity and God. This is in large part because of everything you've done for me and for my family. I know it's cliche, but my cup really does runneth over. Since my diagnosis, I've been completely overwhelmed (in a good way) by the outpouring of support. It's literally brought me to tears more times than I can count.
There is absolutely no way I'll ever be able to thank you each enough or repay the grace and love you've shown. And no words will ever adequately convey just how much it means to me. Please just know that we are grateful to have each and every one of you in our lives.
Finally, because it's my birthday, I have to throw in a couple of requests. First, please continue to pray for and support us as we navigate the next few years until I reach my 5th re-birthday and can officially say I'm "cured" instead of "in remission." Until then, risk for relapse remains relatively high (especially over the next year). And second, please have a celebratory drink sometime today in my honor! Feel free to post on social media, tag me in it, and use hashtag #CaseCured (I'm sometimes very isolated trying to stay healthy, and I'd love to see what you all are up to!)
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Cheers to 1 Year!
Rebecca
