One Year of Remicade

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Hi there, 

One year! A lot can happen in one year. For me, a lot did happen in a year. I turned another year older. My car failed me (still a little upset about that one). I got engaged! I started wedding planning. We found a house that we will be moving into. There are so many things in life that I have been able to experience, to participate in, and my treatments have allowed that.

 One year ago today I started my Remicade journey! So in the last 365 days I have gotten a total of 8 Remicade treatments. I am finally proud and confident talking about my disease and my treatments. I am a fighter. I battle my own body every day. It has taken me a long time to not only talk about my Spondylitis, but to own it. I am going through chemotherapy. No, wait. I am SOARING through chemotherapy, and I am so happy to be doing so. I am sick, I am never going to get better, and I think I am doing a pretty good job at life.  

 This may all sound so silly but, today feels like such a big accomplishment to me. Treatments of chemical therapy are not easy, believe me. It comes full force with side effects and needles. Yuck!  But these treatments have been a miracle medicine in my life, or as I like to call them, my best friend every eight weeks (BFEEW for short). I have been able to live and reclaim my life. I have been able to plan outings with friends. I have been confident enough to work normal shifts at my job, without the worry of not being able to walk. And I have been able to plan my very own wedding around my time, rather than around my disease.

 I have not for one day regretted starting this medicine. I will take any of the side effects I have experienced over the pain I had from my disease. Some days the nausea gets to me, (which tends to happen when I am at work and someone decides to order liver and onions right as the nausea hits). And the couple days of recovering from treatment suck sometimes. But I still will say that this was one of the best decisions of my life. If I could go back, I would have chosen this path again (and again, and again!). Some people give me quizzical looks when I tell them how happy I am that I am on these treatments. But I don't mind. I have been either pain free or in a whole lot less pain the majority of the last year, which was something I didn't think I would ever be able to say again. 

 In this year, I have learned so much. I have learned about my disease as well as many others. I have learned about the many forms of chemotherapy. I have learned to be a stronger person. I have learned how to live and love life. And a lot of that was due to my treatments of Remicade.   
Nikki De


Interested in more reading material? Check out my book! 
Wings by Nicole Harman is available now in both ebook and paperback format on both Amazon and Barnes&Noble. 

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