Two Years Cancer Free

Well, it's Saturday, December 10th, 2016, which means that two years ago today, 600 million stem cells swam back into my body to "reset" my immune system in an attempt to prevent me from continuing to produce mutated, cancerous b-cells.

Two years is a BIG deal!! 

Being in remission for two years means the chance of my cancer coming back a third time is statistically very low.

The only thing that will be a bigger deal is when I reach the five year milestone when I will be considered "officially" cured.

You may remember that the first time my cancer relapsed, I was about a month away from celebrating two years of remission, so being cancer free today, December 10th, 2016, is very symbolic.

I made it!!

Not to say it has been easy though. In fact, this fall has been a bit of a low point for me, health-wise.

It's not easy having the immune system of a two-year-old, and working in a germ factory called the "Elementary School Music Classroom"... especially when your 18-month-old toddler starts daycare for the first time and brings home even more germs. 

I've actually been keeping track of how much I have been sick since school started in September, and it's quicker to tell you that I've only had two weeks this fall where I have not been sick. 

I have been hit mostly with viruses... but I was on antibiotics in November for a chest infection, and I am currently taking a nasal steroid spray to keep my notorious sinus infections at bay. We think that I may have had influenza last week, but it was a bit of a muted version due to the fact that I had received my flu shot almost two weeks prior. I also saw my doctor again yesterday, and now I'm on antibiotics again for some chest and sinus issues.

Oh well. You know what's worse than viruses? 

Cancer!

In healthier news, I will be finished my post-transplant immunizations later this month when I get my measles, mumps, rubella, and chicken pox vaccine.

Other than all that, the only other big thing going on in our life is that Kaitlin is so ready to have this new baby! 

Her due date is January 5th, and even though she is ready to pop, she has been a real trooper lately in dealing with a constantly sick husband and super active toddler. 

Here's a photo from her maternity shoot a couple weeks ago, courtesy of Tracy Christine Photography.

And of course I need to include a recent photo of Madeline in this post, since she's so darn cute!

Sometimes, when I write a new blog post, I get a small handful of random emails from various people in various parts of the world who follow my blog, who just want to let me know what they thought of my latest post. 

Some of those people are currently fighting cancer. 

And some of these cancer fighters wonder if they have any hope of eventually returning to a "normal" life.

The answer is YES. You will get there. Keep fighting.

Thanks for reading!

Christopher

Summer 2016 Update: Baby #2 On The Way!

I'm not sure how many people read this blog anymore, but I wanted to do a quick post for anyone who might be keeping up to date with my journey because I have some super uplifting news:

Kaitlin is pregnant again!

You may remember that before my stem cell transplant the doctors all said it was extremely unlikely that I would be able to father children naturally after the whole thing was said and done. And indeed, I was tested 6 months after my transplant and was found to be completely infertile.

We had prepared for this situation though - before I had my transplant I visited a fertility clinic and froze some of my "little swimmers" so we would have the option of another child in the future.

We were planning to start the (extremely expensive... as in... potentially thousands of dollars) process after Madeline turned two years old next year but it looks like that isn't going to be necessary now as Kaitlin is approximately 14 weeks along with our second naturally-conceived child!

The first ultrasound looked great, and after 3 midwife visits we were able to hear the little heartbeat as well.

It's crazy that our second child has happened this way when it was a similar story with Madeline. You may remember that when I found out my cancer had relapsed in September 2014, Kaitlin and I had three days to attempt to conceive a child before I started chemotherapy, and somehow it worked.

That's why Madeline's middle name is Grace.

I guess you could call us lucky? Or maybe we're just a super-powered-baby-making-machine?

Speaking of Madeline, she is such a little monkey! She turned 1 year old this past May, and she's constantly running around the house saying "GO GO GOOOO" and "MAMA MAMA" and "DADA DADA" and all sorts of other super cute baby words. She is honestly the happiest baby in the world, and we love her so much. It's thrilling to think that she's going to be a big sister next January!

Other than that, life is great! Kaitlin had a super busy year on maternity leave with Madeline, and I had a super busy year teaching music and DJing more than I ever thought possible. From May to October this year I have 46 weddings booked, which is just a little bit insane!

That's all for now. Unless something terrible or amazing (or terribly amazing?) happens, my next post will probably be mid-December when I celebrate Stem Cell Transplant Birthday #2.

Thanks for reading,
Christopher