So this update is very late—much later than it should’ve been or I ever intended. The last couple of weeks in the hospital were brutal—mainly emotionally and psychologically. After three unexpected complications, one of which was severe, they just kept pushing back my release. This became dispiriting enough that I couldn’t bring myself to write here.

As the days passed, I began feeling better physically, which made the confinement to a torturous hospital bed day and night even worse. As August waned, I was given another day that I would be discharged after several others had already come and gone. September 3rd was to be the day, they said—provided nothing new happened.

And in there was the problem. At that point, it seemed like new and unexpected complications just kept coming up. I didn’t want to write about the anticipation of release only to have it snatched away yet again. That would’ve been too much to bear. Being stuck 24/7 in a hospital room for over six weeks is something far more difficult than I ever would have believed. I wasn’t going to trust that date until I was on the road.

But the day finally came, and on September 3rd I was released to go…well, here. Not home—just a home away from home. I have to stay close to the hospital for nearly daily lab work and other treatments. But at least I’m with my family and back in the real world where time actually means something.

On Saturday, I had a reunion with Jade, our beloved golden doodle. I got to visit with her on both Saturday and Sunday, and I’ll get to see her again next weekend.

I’m adjusting to life back on the outside again. I imagine this is a taste of what Andy felt when he finally escaped Shawshank.

Phase 2 of my recovery is here at last. For a while, I’ll be living in temporary lodging nearby so that I can be monitored and treated. As my new marrow grows, my immune system regenerates, and other parts of my internal workings come back online, I’ll eventually get to head for my real home with Molly and Jade. (And yes, I realize that whole sequence makes my body sound like it’s the Enterprise being refit by Montgomery Scott—which is actually pretty apt.)

I’ll continue updating this blog as significant milestones are reached or anything notable happens. I still have other posts I want to write here as well. And I will, with some time and space, write more about my time in the hospital.

In some ways, I was lucky—I didn’t have a lot of the chemo side effects they warned me about ahead of the transplant. On the other hand, I had complications no one could have foreseen. It was in some ways easier and in others much harder than I expected.

But I’m free, and it’s time to get on with life.