There were days when I questioned myself, Would I ever get that far?
There were times when reaching 100 days felt like 100 years.
There were days I surfed around the Internet and admired the people who got through their 100 days and wished I was them.
And Alhamdulillah, here I am today, 100 days post transplant and doing quite well. Thanks to every single person who supported me, e.g. my parents, my brothers, my friends, my bosses, my online support group, the medical team; it would have been difficult for me to come to this day on my own. (I was planning to use this for when I receive my Academy Award, but this came first..so..heheh)
I don't claim to be a better person, but there are some things that I've learned when dealing with a critical illness. Well, I guess I already knew some of them back then, if you read back my first posting since I was diagnosed, but here they are anyway (plus some more):
- Try to be brave, positive, strong and all that.
- Have a sense of humour.
- Keep yourself happy, don't let little things upset you. Even if for some reason you become unhappy, just try to act happy and soon enough you will be happy.
- Evaluate your options and try to understand what is going on.
- Keep track of your developments. Keep a journal. Understand what medications you are taking and what they are for. Make sure the nurses give you the correct medication (yes, they are trained, but they are human too).
- Take it one day at a time. Don't worry too much. Trust that things will work themselves out.
- Stay focused. There will be people coming to your door trying to help you by telling you what works and what doesn't. People like to tell you what to do - it gives them a sense of helping out. Thank them, but most importantly, just focus on the few things that are really useful for you.
- Keep your family close.
- Eat well (I'm still struggling with this until now).
- If you're immunosuppressed but you feel like eating something that you're not advised to, e.g. a burger or mamak curry, never forget to baca Bismillah and hope that whatever you're about to eat is safe, heheh.
- Pray. As often as you could.
Here's to another 100 days. Cheers.
