2 Week Post Bone Marrow Donation Report

Six-word recap: Basically normal but a bit tired.

I ran!

It's been exactly two weeks since I went under the knife to donate bone marrow. In some ways, it's like it never happened. It's incredible to me that in spite of undergoing a very invasive procedure, I have barely anything left to remind me it happened at all. My incisions look like bug bites or acne, and the bruising is almost gone. My only lingering symptom is I seem to be more sore than normal after runs, and I get tired earlier than I'd like (but that could also be because my work is having its annual meeting and I've been a busy bee).

I am pretty tired, though. It takes two weeks for all the stuff to grow back, but I'm thinking it's going to be another two before I feel like myself. My first few "workouts" were rough. Last week, I started with walking when I was beginning to feel antsy. My heart rate told me I wasn't back to black, though. Walking a not-even brisk 2.7 miles had me breaking out into a sweat, but day by day, I get better and the running does, too.


My first accomplishment was walking a 5K (took me about an hour). Then, I ran a very slow (10:26) mile and have never been happier. I was sweaty and my heart rate was well over 170 (my max heart rate is 199). So my plan for a few days was to run what I could, then bike for 30 minutes or 5 miles, depending on my schedule. First I got to 12 minutes of running, then 1.5 miles, then two miles.

Recover cookies

And yesterday, I ran my first post-op 5K. Outdoors! I'm at a conference for work and enjoyed the lakefront access. It was an awesome feeling to know I was back in the game.

I'm not sure what the Circular Logic Marathon holds for me, but I'm going to try it. My body is mostly healed, I did the important parts of the training and I've already book the hotel. Never mind how spent I feel at mile 22 without hollow bones and a massive reboot going on inside me. Might as well try.

As for the recipient, it's all going as well as can be expected. It's a wait and watch and see proposition. He's getting anti-rejection drugs and we're still another 10 days away from knowing if this transplant took. All anyone can do right now is send positive thoughts and hope for the best.