It has been 100 days since his October 10 “birthday.” That fall, sunny date marked the day when Dave received his bone marrow transplant. Today, we have made it to the 100-day mark without a single readmittance to Karmanos. Despite the subjectivity of 100 days, hitting the century-day milestone is important for several reasons. It means that even though GvHD has been evident, the donor’s bone marrow still likes its new home. The GvHD (in the form of a slight rash) is responding to treatment. In addition, it means that even though Dave’s kidneys are being watched carefully (caused by the BMT rejection drug), nothing is emerging to force a return to Karmanos’ 10th floor. His blood counts have continued to hold steady, which means that the risk of infection has been mild. Finally, and most importantly, it implies that the immune suppression medication can begin being tapered, which is really good news. We have realized that every time that drugs have been pulled off of the list, the better that Dave’s mental and physical condition has been.

Dave is gaining strength and feeling quite a bit more energetic. He is taking daily hikes in the woods. He is back doing resistance band work, light weights and med ball workouts. He even jumped rope on Tuesday. Crazy – I know! He is eating better but is still under 180 pounds – mostly because he is back to exercising and burning calories. He is even regaining his facial hair – which is kinda sexy!

Dave is also driving occasionally now, which relieves me of chauffeuring him everywhere we need to go. Can you imagine not driving for over three and a half months? If nothing else, it is a strong mental boost.

After 100 days, life is good. For that, we have so much to be thankful. For now, we must still continue his weekly visits to Karmanos. We must continue to monitor the GvHD and be under careful watch as we subtract the drugs on his daily list.

The best news is we feel that we have turned a proverbial corner. That’s really good news!