Peter’s Hospital Diary

A quick update on the week, most of which was spent up at St Thomas’s, having the next course of ECP. However the monotony was broken as Felicity and Rachael came up for the afternoon and we went out for a pizza in the evening - with my ‘Joe Cool’ sunglasses on, which made reading the menu difficult! (I have to wear them for about six hours after each session to protect my eyes from UV radiation).

The pictures are of the two cars involved in the incident last week. Mine is above left, with damage to the rear bumper. It still isn’t back, the garage is waiting for the replacement moulding. The other one is the car that hit it. Don’t think I need say more!

This weekend we are off to a birthday party, calling in at my parents on the way. More of that next week!

Onwards and upwards!

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In fact it was quite warm and sunny today, unlike most of the week which has been mixed! However I have been at home, preparing CVs and the like, and arranging car repairs after someone collided with the rear of my car. As it is still in the hands of the Insurance Companies, I’ll say little about it, except that the damage to the other car was considerably greater than to mine!

Vicky and Olivia and Tom have been over, and Olivia seems to have made a step change in her speech - almost forming sentences, and much clearer words. Katie has been home too, and Rachael has been at the Reading music festival - and comes home tomorrow. Shower and washing machine primed ready for action.

We were out with Mark, Sue, Caroline and Gabor last night - ending up playing ten pin bowling - on a Nintedo Wii. I haven’t been much of a games console fan, but this was excellent - on my wish list!

Next week I am back in London for more ECP. I have also spoken to the diving medicine specialist - it seems that some drugs (particularly bleomycin) can increase susceptibility to lung fibrosis under high partial pressures of oxygen. Bleomycin isn’t a drug I have had, so unless one of the myriad I have taken causes a problem, I am cautiously optimistic!

So - Onwards and Upwards!

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There are some significant changes in my life happening soon, including a job change, but as part of the completion of my current occupation, I needed a medical examination! Actually a formal review of my medical history over the last few years. However, while I was doing that, I applied to retake my diving medical - you may recall that I tried that over a year ago, and failed it, which was a bit disappointing. However, I am delighted to say that I passed it this time, with quite a good result in the fitness test - the main thing I failed last time. (If anyone is interested, it is the Harvard Step Test) so another little psychological boost. However it isn’t all good news as the Doctor is reluctant to pass me as fit to dive because of all the treatment, but my notes are being passed to a diving medicine specialist for examination.

Other than that, this week was an ECP week, so I had my two days at St Thomas’s. I have also had a bit of a sniffle, so I dutifully took myself to the haemotology department at Guy’s for another NPA, and came away with some anti-biotics “Just in case”. It seems to be clearing up, but whether that is spontaneous or the result of the anti-biotics, I don’t know. maybe the results of the NPA will show something.

Olivia came over on Friday - quite a toddler, and very determined! If she wants to show you something, it’s a firm grip on your finger, and off you go. I must take some more photos of her!

So a good week overall, and another step Onwards and Upwards!

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Well I might not have needed the chicken pox immunoglobilin, but there is a chance I might have got something else from the day unit - a respiratory infection! Over the weekend I developed a runny nose and a sore throat - bit like the one I developed at Christmas and the New Year.

So after the ECP yesterday and today, popped back to the day unit at Guy’s for another NPA and for a prescription for Augmentin, another anti-biotic. The cold (if that is what it is) seems to be getting better anyway, but given the situation, better to be safe than sorry!

As for the ECP, that all went well, and is now pretty routine, veins are good so it was a good couple of days! So… Onwards and Upwards!

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Our friend Marian came round for dinner last night so I was a tad tired when I set off for London this morning for my Immunoglobulin to mitigate the risk of catching chicken pox. However I arrived at the day unit only to be told that I wasn’t on the list! It appears that by the time I arrived at the clinic last week, the infected patient had gone, so the risk is considered so small that I didn’t need it! So I turned round and came home again!

Well, not immediately, I did call in for a chat with Tammy, the transplant scientist, who still has a few of my stem cells in her stem cell bank, and then on my way out of the hospital, I bumped into Dr Carr - the consultant who first treated me and supervised the first two self donated transplants.

I haven’t seen Robert for about 18 months - in fact the last chance encounter was when I was having the radiotherapy 21 months ago, so we had a chat - his comment being that “You don’t really want the Immunoglobulin if you don’t have to, its a bit painful - stick with the acyclovir” - acyclovir is an anti viral drug I am taking anyway to protect against chickenpox. Anyway, it was good to see him for a chat, and that, with the chat to Tammy, made the trip worthwhile!

The journey back was Ok, although I had to change at Winchester, where the police were out in force with a drug detecting dog. Marvellous to watch, and while I was there, detected about five people. Lucky I’m not on the cocaine mouthwash!

More ECP next week - onwards and upwards!

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Where did it go? I have been on holiday since last Friday, with the intention of knuckling down and finishing the last piece of coursework for this module - with some success - its about 75% done, but in going back over it, I found a few additional things to put in, so that was useful. However, it has been a lazyish week, not least because the weather at the weekend was so bad. However yesterday I went to see an old friend, Nikki, with whom I had lost touch, but now lives about 40 minutes away (great lemon drizzle cake!) and last night we were out for dinner at friends Peter and Lin and Janet.

But it seems that when I had my checkup last Thursday, there was a patient there who has subsequently developed chicken pox. The herpes zoster virus can be very nasty for people with impaired immune systems (like me) so I had a phone call from Guy’s on Wednesday evening asking me to go for some immunoglobin as a precaution, either today (Thursday) or tomorrow. As today as a bit short notice, I shall be going tomorrow!

So - onwards and upwards!

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