Approximately 10 days into the process and the chronic nausea I had been suffering from for, well, about 10 days was showing no signs of abating. I am composing this update in January and post-dating it. As I write this I am recalling the sights and sounds of the hospital ward and quickly rejecting most of those memories. And at the time I was in no fit state to be reading, writing or thinking too much whilst in the throws of chemo induced distress. On reflection I can summarise it in a handy nugget; it was bloody awful!
First things first, and this can’t be said often enough, that the NCCC in general & the staff looking after me (and everyone else) cannot be praised highly enough. They made the whole experience immeasurably better. But the effects of the treatment didn’t fare me well. After administering the chemo on day 1 I had a day off from any treatment, save for routine obs and such. Day 3 was a trip to the Institute of Transplantation for the transplant itself; for me, routine in itself, although the first signs of sickness began to surface as my previously harvested cells were secreting their way back in to my bone marrow. It was over pretty quickly though and I was soon whisked away back to the ward where I’d remain to allow engraftment to take place. Until my blood counts ’n things were at an acceptable level, so that my immune system would be functional, I was staying in. The next 10 days were pretty tough; away from my family, Christmas approaching, and the sickness just wouldn’t shift. After exactly two weeks of being in hospital, the consultant gave the nod that I could go home; my neutrophils, potassium levels and platelets were on the up and looking good. Fantastic news, although I was still feeling sickly, without appetite and as weak as a kitten. Home recuperation is the best thing for all that though, I reckon. And it was such a relief to be back home, and my girls had made me a huge welcome home banner which I love so much! I wasn’t eating much (pot noodle & weetabix) but “recovery starts here”, I remember thinking. And what better incentive to get well than with Christmas just 4 weeks away!
1 Comment
Simon Reed
8/1/2020 13:33:50
Sounds nasty Dave. Hope you managed to enjoy Christmas and have gone some way to rebuilding your sturdy physique. Lots going on here at Alpek. Happy New Year mate! Simon.
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About meI'm David Jameson, I live in Whitley Bay with my beautiful wife Janine, our two children and our two dogs. I love music, and Newcastle United. And I have multiple myeloma. Archives
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