We found out on Tuesday November 28 that Sam’s immune system had passed the 2 main components (out of 3) of the mitogen test.

This means he can fight off the main antigens that are found in our world — viruses, bacteria, fungus — they can still make him sick of course (his Superman status not withstanding :) but his immune system can fight them off now — what a great thing that is!  Please take a moment to thank your immune system — it’s f—king amazing.

And he can do crazy things like go into buildings (if it’s crowded, he still needs to wear a mask)! And drink smoothies made from berries!  And come off the restrictive Stem Cell Diet.  And ride on an airplane (hope to visit 1 or more colleges in the new year — what fun that will be!)

It’s been 8 months since his transplant so Dr. B and NP Karen were very happy to see his mitogen test “bump up” (he was at 50% in October during the last mitogen test). As far as I can tell, each person recovers in their own time but I think 8 months is solid as far as the “big picture” of stem cell transplant recovery rates, especially given he had some acute graft vs. host disease to contend with (and had to take steroids which suppressed his immune system and therefore delayed his immune system’s reconstitution).

A note about school — they recommend that he continues to school from home for the remainder of the semester but he is set to return to in person schooling in January as we’d been hoping. Yay!  Have to factor in the “2 week” buffer to account for all the traveling that everyone will no doubt do — but a good mask will probably be enough to keep him safe as everyone mixes back together.  And if he gets rhinovirus or other viruses or bacteria, his body has the immune cells to fight. 💪🏼

And we can go see friends for the winter holidays! So we are busily finding accommodations for our sweet dog Milo and making hotel reservations. Going to drive to SoCal like we did last year.  Hooray! Sam has grown up with this group of young adults and they always support each other and uplift each other through the ups and downs so I know that they will all be glad to be reunited for a few days (we’ve known them since the kids were 3 and we’ve gathered together most NYEs for the past 15 years — but most of them live on the east coast so we don’t see them very often :().

And last year he had his blina bag with him when we went to SoCal and this year - no bag!  And spoiler for the next post — he won’t even have his port in! 🤯

He still has to be super mindful about the sunlight and sun exposure so sunscreen is a must — ears and hands and neck are key! 

So much to celebrate! LFG Stem Cells!

#FULeukemia

#TeamSamStrong