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Thursday 13 October 2011

Day 6 and Day 7 – up up and away

Day 6

Yesterday Day 6 I didn’t feel very well and I was sick about three times during the day, not enormously though it just seemed that if I was settled on one position and suddenly moved to another I got a sudden urge to throw up. It was normally when I was leaning forward to take tablets or about to eat my lunch or dinner. I was very tired throughout the day and spent most of it nodding off.

They put me on some fluids again overnight, just some saline, which is a bit of pain, not literally just annoying as I can’t really sleep when the baxter is on on buzzing away next to my ear with occasional clicking and squeaking that that it does. I think I managed to nod off a couple of times though in between going to the toilet for wee at around 3am.

Day 7

Every morning when I wake up (I was going to burst into song then … ) I wonder if today is going to be the day I end up with the very sore throat and they are going to suggest tubes down my throat to feed be by. Fortunately today is another without a sore throat, or at least it is so far. The doctors have been in to see me this morning and they told me my Para protein levels from the igs bloods they took the other day. I was at 15 which is compared to the last one at Chester 25 is lower; the reason for this is that it was done by a different medical centre. which thinking about it, I thought they sent them over to Liverpool to get processed, so I’m not sure about that. Dr Salim said that there is a process in place to calibrate the various testing centre’s so that they are are all the same, and I jokingly said I should come to Liverpool on a more regular basis as it shows I am better off. It’s only by a few points though and we really don’t know how much it had dropped or adjusted since having it done at Chester, so I’m not too concerned about the different. The main thing is, is that is isn’t showing a rise in my paraprotein. That would have been more of a worry.

My Neutrophils are now at 0.2 and as they are almost zero they are going to start me on the GCSF, which is the growth factor injections into my stomach to start off my own bone marrow to fight back and start to work it’s way up again. I have always considered this the turning point of the transplant process and I am now on the way to getting better and starting the weeks on getting out of hospital and going home. I may still be here for another couple of weeks yet until I stabilise enough to go home, but in my mind I’m on my way up and that’s the positive attitude that I am keeping.

I’m sure it will pass quickly as I’m finding that all of the things I have brought in to keep me occupied, I’m not getting the time to do with one thing and another. I have my kindle with me with a couple of books loaded that I haven’t even looked at yet and a new real (yes it had pages made of paper and you have to physically turn the page, do you remember those things called real books, back in the old days?) book, that I only started reading prior to coming in about Reiki I’ve downloaded an electronic book of Reiki symbols onto my kindle as well. Music on my iPod I’ve only listened to a few times. I bought a Dave Brubeck CD just before coming in and only got to play the first 8 out 27 tracks on the Take 5 album, they don’t make music like that anymore! Every time I start to listen to it, a nurse will come in or someone else to interrupt it. I’m looking forward to the day when I can sit at home with some cheese and wine and this album playing to totally chill out.