Good morning, Alive! My first thought was to give you a virtual High Five and a ‘You go, Gurl’ for having such a positive, practical and sane approach to your life after a stem cell transplant during the pandemic. Like we don’t have enough to deal with, right? ☺️

Calculated risks is the perfect term for taking back your life after transplant during a pandemic. You’re doing everything you can to prevent exposure and having your PCP already in the loop for a proactive plan is brilliant. You’re out in the real world, working and living a normal, healthy life. At some point we have to move on from the ‘patient’ mentality of our procedure and aftermath. It takes time to have that brain shift and you’ve embraced that transition fully.

Last month I had my 2.4 month visit with my transplant team at Mayo. One of the questions I had for my doctor was whether or not he felt it was safe for my husband and I to finally get back to Florida for the winter; Covid always on our minds, of course. We told him we were driving, our exposure would be limited. We don’t eat out, we’re always masked, vaccinated, etc. He smiled and said, “We didn’t get you this far to sit home and be a vegetable. Go to Florida. I trust you to continue to do the right thing.” So here we are in sunny Florida, far from the freezing cold of home. Few people are masked even though stores have signs in the front entry requiring them to be worn. We’re careful but practical.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!