Surprisingly well: Getting to know Tony!

Well the good news is that this first of the preparatory IVE Chemos is going reasonably smoothly. I have a bit of a runney nose, slightly wobbly stomach and feeling drained but otherwise my focus is clear and emotional state is actually very good. Poppy and Holly visited yesterday and that went quite well, I got dressed in my normal clothes and traniners so that I would seem as normal as possible, showed them round the ward, my bed and the Hickman line. On the way home Lee told me they thought I looked better than during my last chemo, which is good and I think they can feel connected and yet confident based on this visit. We were very careful to use sterilising wipes on hands etc and make sure they did not touch anything or cough all of which went well.

After they left I started to watch the first ever episode of the US mafia series “the Sopranos” it is excellent and I have hours of it to go so I am well set for entertainment, its hard not to like Tony Soprano as my friend Nick told me. His reluctant, thoughtful yet brutal thug is a great character very well played - I even recommended it to my mum after four episodes.

My friend Kamil next door and I have been swapping computer games, he has been through stem cell treatment and is going home today after a short stay for a high temperature which they dealt will easily. I have never been a gamer, Holly is better than me already and is working on Shreck 2 at the moment, but I wanted to learn one game when I was sick as a way to absorb time so I bought an old classic “Call of Duty” lets see how I get on, He is very pleased to be getting out of hospital, I think once you have done the long haul of stem cell treatment you do not want to spend another night in the place, however for me its been great to meet him and be encouraged that the treatment is tough but manageable and folks are OK after it very often.

Its kind of selfish but being here I see many folks who are in very, very serious conditions frail and elderly and not able to look after themselves in many ways and it makes me feel I can use my relative youth and strength to get on the right side of the odds. Its also amazing to see the humour and dignity with which people approach and deal with death, and the mixture of humour, tenderness and pragmatic approach of the staff to help people keep their dignity in difficult times.

So all is going well as can be expected over here two days in, the low point should be next weekend when my immune system will be shot and fatigue will set in - however this first reaction to the chemo is a good indicator of future experiences with this preliminary chemo and so gives me confidence. The stem cell chemo is a whole other ball game mind you but we can cross that bridge in March. So far so good.

Cheers

Gerry

PS - Chemo 1, crash 1 Just as you think its going well then the first chemo crash hits, I wrote the note above around noon but by one I just lost all energy, various biological functions went a bit haywire and eventually I had to lie down on the bed just to wake up three hours later according to the clock, disoriented and wobbly. Now an hour later things have stabilised, up is once again up, down has returned reassuringly to being down. Not unexpected and not too severe but the body will react when you pump it full of poisons for a few days after all !