Holiday Gifts

I got a wonderful gift yesterday, all the sweeter because it was unexpected. My doctor told me to begin tapering one of my immuno suppressant drugs, reducing the Prograf from 3 mgs. per day to 2. Normally, this wouldn't happen until around Day 100, but due to the apparent precocity of my baby boy blood, I was deemed ready to taper at Day 89. But that's not the gift I'm referring to, although it is connected to loosening the handcuffs on my spanking new immune system, which is what the reduction in Prograf does. No, the gift was much more exciting than one less pill per day (and a little one at that). My doctor said I can now eat some of the foods I've been denied these last 3 months: salad, thin-skinned fresh fruits (apples, grapes), undercooked veggies, fresh bread/bagels/bakery items and--here's the best part--take-out food including pizza. Unfortunately, I don't live in the pizza capital of the world, which would be NYC. But we can get decent New-York-style pizza here in Little Rhody, and (excuse the shouting) WE ORDERED SOME FOR DINNER LAST NIGHT.

The pizza was pretty tasty, but it ended up being the gift that kept on giving. At 2:00 am, I awoke with a bit of a stomach ache, thinking great, I've poisoned myself. But it went away, so it must have been mere indigestion. This morning, I enjoyed a crusty baguette for breakfast. Maybe I'll have an apple for a snack later on.

My excitement about eating foods like pizza and french bread is no doubt a typical response for a transplant patient. So much of my life right now is proscribed by my transplant, that it's a minor miracle when a change occurs. It's not just the pizza, but what it represents. My body is getting stronger and able to take on a few new risks. My crawling immune system is learning to how to walk. Let's just hope any stumbles are minor and not ER-quality.

I've saved the best gift for last, one that I gave myself: I started working again. I'm back to grant writing for the library, from the comfort and safety of my own home. My first project is due December 16, basicially an essay describing what unique or creative way the library has encouraged reading this year. My knitting project has suffered a bit, but it was basically limping along anyway. Someday, I will have a sweater. In the meantime, I'm getting a little self-estem boost, and a modest paycheck.