Another trip to Harefield yesterday, this time just for a clinic visit. Was all a bit silly, really, since by the time they saw me in clinic they hadn’t had my blood results back, so they didn’t know if they needed to change any of my meds or do anything else, which meant the whole visit was a bit pointless. Apart, I suppose, from the fact that they can at least look at the blood work today to see if anything troubling has come up.
The last couple of days have been pretty busy and I’m feeling it catch up with me today. It’s a very odd feeling, different to my rest-periods from before. I can have a couple of days of being very busy and working flat-out, but then need to take a day off, but it all seems a little unpredictable at the moment. Before my op I had got used to the fact that if I did something, the next day would have to be a rest day. Now, though, sometimes I can get away with doing lots and other times it seems like I need to rest more than usual.
I’m sure this is all part and parcel of the recovery process, coupled with the fact that my body is still working it’s way back to full strength after the virus double-whammy of last month. What still boggles my mind, though, is that even when I’m tired and need a bit of rest, I can still do things. Before the transplant, if I was tired it was an all-encompassing tiredness that wouldn’t let up until I’d slept it off, no matter what time of day or night it was. Now, it’s more of a general slow-down – everything just takes a little longer and I don’t feel as sharp as I was, but I’m by no means bed-ridden.
What’s funny is that I kind of assume that this is the general “normal people” kind of tiredness, but since I’ve never experienced it before, I’ve no idea if it’s a “normal” thing or not – whether I’ll get used to it and stay like this or whether it’s a transplant thing that will change in time.
There are so many things to learn about a new body post-transplant that go way beyond just getting used to having breath in your lungs. I’m getting there, slowly but surely, and learning new things everyday. Even six months on, it’s still a journey of discovery and it’s still as exciting now as it was when I took my first steps back to my room on the ward.