This is all possible because I had an upper endoscopy two Fridays ago.  The doc had to do two bands for minor swelling of some varices.  But since I haven’t had a significant increase in varicies and I haven’t had any new clots in a long time, I get to stop taking shots for blood thinners.  

The muscle cramps in my hands and legs have significantly decreased.  No more screaming in excruciating pain!  I do wake up once a night with some leg cramps, but sitting up and stretching out the muscle usually fixes that quickly.  The sores in my mouth from GVHD are also much better.  I still have two minor sores on the bottom of my tongue, but they don’t really bother me much anymore.  I’m hoping to be brave enough to try some hot sauce soon :).  I really miss it :(

I’m dealing with a head and chest cold right now that kept me in bed for most of the day yesterday.  I guess it’s another example of the fun stuff I’ll get to deal with as my immune system slowly builds and gains strength.

In the meantime, it’s business as usual in the McBride compound - I’m trying to stretch, walk, and work on strength in between all of these other fun things I’m dealing with; Talin is trying to take care of everyone and do everything (which she somehow amazingly manages to do); our boys are trying to survive the end of their sophomore year and final exams; and Leia successfully picks new furniture each day to curl up on and add her dog hair to, just so we have to vacuum it off.  

All in all, I’m enjoying the chaos of home life…and wouldn’t have it any other way :)