Day +8: Return of the leukocytes

Pssst! Quiet now! We don´t want to scare them away. If you look closely you can see them, those shy little guys. There is only a handful of them but they have returned. You see them? My dear little leukocytes?

Today for the first time in a week there was a value other than zero in my blood work where the values for leukocytes and granulocytes are. That means my newly transplanted stem cells have finally taken up production. From now on it´ll only get better- the pain will pass, my immune system will build up and I will feel stronger. If everything keeps going as it is I probably can leave hospital and isolation at the end of next week. My neutrophilic granulocytes only have to pass the magical threshold of 0.5 and I´m good to go. Today they were at 0.05 so we still have a bit work to do here my stem cells and me.

But just to think that it could now only be a few more days left (filled with pain and transfusions and brei but whatever) until I´m back in freedom  and...cancerfree? Fucking awesome.

P.S.: It´s been two weeks to the day today since first Etoposide- and bam my hair starts to fall off. Again. That is soooo... been there, done that.