Time to rebuild

One of the many symptoms for a tandem transplant patient is weight loss with much of the weight coming from muscle.  Each time the doctors would tell me about symptoms that were present for all patients, I tended to be the rare exception.  For several months, I maintained my weight within a couple pounds.  The medical team said my lack of weight loss was very unusual.  They didn't know why I was so different from the norm.  

After the worst treatments were over and most people would start to gain weight, my body finally started to lose weight, including muscle.  The symptom hit me about three months after the allogeneic transplant and about three months later than normal.  The good news is I had some weight to lose and it didn't go too far as it does with many patients.  Some end up looking far too thin with massive muscle loss, needing assistance to walk or to complete ordinary tasks.  The result of my weight loss was not nearly as severe.  I'm at the correct weight for a person of my height but much of the muscle is gone, making it difficult to lift heavy objects or to walk for a long distance. 

It's time to rebuild my strength.  They say it comes back in about a year.  I'll start working to rebuild and continue to feel grateful that my current concern is simply muscle loss.  It could be so much worse.