Shots Shots Shots!!!

If only this blog post was about me getting the COVID vaccine… HA. 

Nope, this post is about me and my almost 14 month old immune system getting 3 shots that you get when you are a baby! #smallwins

Yesterday was a long day. I left the house at noon, got to my appointment 30-45 minutes early(you never know with traffic and parking in the city), and finally got home 6 hours later after my two appointments. 

If anyone ever thinks they’re jealous of me not working… trust me… don’t be jealous of my half day doctor appointments!!

I always have to get bloodwork done before my appointment. They say to get there 15 minutes ahead of your appointment, but I try to get there a little earlier than that. 

After a few very painful IV sticks, I have learned that it is best to get my blood drawn in my hand. My veins in the crease of my elbow are deep, and it normally takes even the best phlebotomist a few(painful) tries. So to my hands it is!! It’s also nice because then I don’t have to remember to wear a short sleeve shirt in the colder months to my appointments. 

Since March, no guests have been allowed into the cancer building(except for assisting a patient). They have removed most of the seating in the common areas and waiting areas. Up until mid summer, I was one of the few people in the waiting rooms. Yesterday, the waiting room was full(still with much less seating). 

After I got my blood drawn, back to the waiting room, waiting to be called for my vital signs to be checked(blood pressure, oxygen level, temp – as well as weight and sometimes height). Sometimes I get led back to a room to wait for my doctor or NP, but back to the waiting room I went. 

I had to wait another hour to get put back into my room for my appointment. 

I wish this didn’t happen often, but I would say it happens more frequently than not. 

One time my doctor had to admit someone to the hospital. Sometimes they have new patients who have longer appointments. Sometimes they are waiting for your bloodwork. 

But none of that helps your anxiety level not skyrocket for every minute past your appointment time. 

Bring a book. Text friends- please avoid making phone calls in the waiting room 🙂 

I was finally called to go back to a room. My doctor soon came in.

I will say that my doctor is the best. He expresses genuine concern for how I’m doing. Of course I say “I think I’m doing pretty well… unless you tell me otherwise!!” I say that because the last time I was diagnosed, I had no alarming symptoms. 

Anyways, he pulls something up on his computer screen and goes “look!”

(I need to write a blog post about my appointment in November, but he did something similar to show me my results then.)

“0.0000” ….. That was the percentage of leukemia cells detected. 

I honestly would have hugged him if it wasn’t for damn COVID. 

Even though I was deemed in full remission back in November, I had 0.00236% leukemia cells in my blood – yes, blood cancer remission is freaking confusing and complicated!!!!!!!!!

Once I got back to my chair and hit the back of my head against the wall, I let out a deep breath. 

*Now, this STILL doesn’t mean it couldn’t come back. And after you’ve relapsed not once, but TWICE, it’s kind of hard to get as excited as you would be your first time. With that said, I’M STILL BEYOND THRILLED!!!!!!

After going over what that means, we talk about lovely COVID. Hopefully I can get the vaccine sometime this spring. *This doesn’t mean much will change. I will still have to be very selective and restricted about what I do and who I see and everything in between!*

I swear I leave every single doctor’s appointment having more and more respect and appreciation for my doctor. I still can’t believe how lucky I am to have him and the Penn network. 

Once I floated out of my appointment room and back into the infusion waiting room, I waited 15 minutes to be told that my floor was full, and that I had to go to another floor to get my vaccines. 

Down to the second floor I go! Silver lining, I got to see two girls that I went to high school with! 🙂 

An hour and 15 minutes later, I left to go to my car. An hour later in rush hour traffic, I was home!!

Are you exhausted from reading that? Because I am just typing it all out!!

Back to the shots… normally, someone gets these shots when they are 6 months post bone marrow transplant. The reason I had to get them was because when someone gets a bone marrow transplant, it is literally a brand new immune system. All of the vaccines you’ve received since you were born, are WIPED OUT. 

Why did I get them 14 months post transplant?? Well… since I relapsed about 80 days post transplant and had to do 4 rounds of chemo from March through June, AND get a DLI(booster of cells from original donor) at the end of June, my doctors didn’t want me to get the shots until I was a few months post DLI. 

They didn’t want me to get them close to the DLI because sometimes people get what is called GVHD – graft vs host disease – which is a reaction to the new cells. It can range from a rash to more chronic symptoms. So the last thing they wanted to do was have my body react to the shots and put me back in the hospital. NO THANK YOU!!!

I forget why I didn’t get them this fall, but I did get my first flu shot right after Thanksgiving. One year post transplant. 

I was supposed to get these 3 shots 2 days after my 30th birthday on December 17th, but due to a snow storm, my appointment went virtual and I didn’t get the shots. 

I got the pneumonia shot, a different type of flu shot, and the meningitis shot. 

Now, I could not tell you how many shots I’ve gotten since I was originally diagnosed, but I am still VERY sore more than 12 hours later. No rash, but it feels like someone punched me on BOTH arms pretty hard. I’m a side sleeper so that was a challenge last night!

It feels similar to my blood clotting Nulasta shots from being in the hospital- but a much longer lasting feeling. 

I got two in my right arm, and one in my left arm. 

I’m not sure when the next round of shots will be, but bring it on!!! My body is getting ready for the damn COVID vaccine!!!!!