TL;DR: I have been really sick and am hopefully getting better. I’m raising money for Stupid Cancer here. I have reached insanity in dealing with this GVHD. I got home August 12, after a summer during which I got progressively more sick until I ended up in a really scary place. I lost 20 lbs, had... Continue Reading →
This is something that I have debated sharing, because it's hard to share the hard stuff, but I've worked too hard to keep this site honest and transparent to give up now. I have been having a hard time coping. The way I got through treatment was by knowing that it would eventually end. The... Continue Reading →
It's been a crazy few weeks. I started an internship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering on June 5. I also took my finals in New York during the first two weeks of working (s/o to the quarter system) and flew back for a weekend for graduation and a family event. In the last couple of weeks I... Continue Reading →
I try not to complain too much about my body not working. First of all, I think it's pretty obvious that this sucks so it doesn't really need to be said. Second of all, I don't think about it all that much. One of my roommates asked me the other day if I ever just want... Continue Reading →
I took the stupid prednisone. I stared at it for like three days before I did it, but the alternative was "die of GVHD" so I figured it was worth it. I have been ridiculously socially unacceptable the past few weeks between the skin flaking off my body, the gut GVHD making me eat like... Continue Reading →
1 1/2 years post-transplant. 1.5 years of surviving - of learning that the hard part is living, not dying. I capped off 18 months post-transplant in New York City, my first plane travel since the horrific plane ride back from South Africa. https://www.instagram.com/p/BSURsgPFGz6/?taken-by=brookevitti I came back to spring quarter ready to take on too much... Continue Reading →
Many of you may have heard of the infamous Ketchup Fight 2k16, in which I decided that I was no longer able to abide by the GVHD diet 100%. The diet involved canned fruit, plain meat (think turkey lunch meat), white bread, and plain spaghetti. You probably think you’ve had plain spaghetti before, but I’m... Continue Reading →
On Tuesday, the sun had finally come out and I was starting to feel like the trauma of treatment was worth it. I was walking in the quad, on my way to my Comp Lit class, and snapped a picture of the palm trees above me: https://www.instagram.com/p/BQgt68Mg8xb/?taken-by=brookevitti After class, I was sitting on the Oval doing... Continue Reading →
Well, when it rains, it pours right? It's been pouring for weeks, and the hill behind our house slid right through our back wall. Awesome!! I'm sure you can guess which house is mine. Anyway, the inside looks like this: So, we're pumped about that. If you want to see my dad on the news, click... Continue Reading →
February 4 is allegedly world cancer day. I have never heard of this before so who knows if it's real, but I'll go with it. I spent today having lunch with friends and studying for a chem midterm. It was a pretty normal day. Every day, when I wake up my body aches from walking... Continue Reading →
