John Divo is delighted to simply feel good.

It’s been a long time for the 20-year-old Baden man, who battled leukemia only to have the cancer return in his central nervous system.

Now a little over a month since he got an urgently needed stem cell transplant, a full recovery seems on the horizon.

“I can really see myself getting back to how I was before and getting back to a normal life,” Divo said.

He came home on April 20, having spent about a month in hospital after the transplant. He returns to the Hamilton hospital for weekly check ups.

“Everything is going great and I’m feeling really good,” Divo said.

His energy is returning. He even got out on the golf course a couple times.

“I’ve been able to keep moving and not just lay around all day.”

Divo was set to return to playing hockey with the Kitchener Dutchmen junior team when the relapse was discovered, then he waited a few months for the vital stem cell match.

Mostly now he’s still staying at home because he has to be careful being out in crowds as his immune system recovers.

For the first 100 days after the transplant, he needs to wear a mask in public to guard against illness. After 150 days, he’ll be off all medication.

“I can’t wait for those days to come,” Divo said.

Saturday is Day 43.

“I’m getting there,” Divo said. “As long as I’m feeling good, that’s all that matters.”

Before the stem cell transplant, he underwent full-body radiation and chemotherapy to ready his body. The first two weeks after the transplant were tough, with times when he couldn’t eat or drink.

“All of a sudden I started to feel better,” Divo said. “My body was able to bounce back pretty good.”

His parents are happy to see their son doing so well.

“It’s a very long process for recovery, but he’s doing very well,” said his mother Fatima Divo.

Source:  TheRecord.com