Peter's Hospital Diary

Not so much today, but it is ten years ago today that I first had an inkling that things were not quite right – little did I know then that life would never be quite the same again!

I was in America on a business trip, and when the business activities had finished, I stayed on to take a holiday, joined by my family. We were staying with friends in North Carolina and I developed a rash and itchy palms. Eventually I went to the local health centre and had one of the most comprehensive check ups ever – including blood tests and x-rays. The eventual diagnosis was that I had an enlarged spleen, indicative of several things, including (in passing) leukaemia. Whatever it was, I was advised to get it investigated, but I went away with a prescription for anti-biotics. (I wonder if he thought I had Lyme’s disease)

On the basis that rare things are rare, I took the anti-biotics, paid the bill (so glad I had medical insurance for the holiday!) and returned to the UK three weeks later and (because I was based in London at the time) I ended up at St Thomas’s for investigation and an eventual diagnosis of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma – two years later re-diagnosed as mantle cell lymphoma.

And here, 10 years, two self donated transplants and one unrelated donor transplants later, I am! A journey not without its moments of suspense and drama! – And here thanks to the advances in medical science and the team at Guy’s and St Thomas’s, and also Southampton General Hospital! (And I did ring up that Doctor in the US to thank him!)

So to all those and those who have supported me over the years, a very big THANK YOU!

Onwards and upwards!

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I have just realised that it is over a week since I last posted, and I really don’t know where that week has gone! I suppose it has been quite busy work wise, and the weekend was quite eventful, catching up with things and taking Felicity off to the station on Sunday for a week at the Chelsea flower show, running one of the restaurants there.

The weekend was good, Saturday was another milestone birthday for the last of our ‘gang of four’ (this was Gabor’s of Electrical Language Podcast fame) so we gathered in the pub for lunch, followed by an afternoon in front of a DVD and then an evening with friends Sue and Mark.

But this all seems very normal, for which I am very grateful, and another indication that I am getting my life back!

Onwards and upwards!

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First of all, the photograph promised last week has arrived and shows (on the right) Elaine and Jon (Jon from University days) on our drive Saturday week ago. He hasn’t changed very much!

The week since I last posted has been fairly uneventful – uneventful that is until the weekend when another Wedding Fair organised by Felicity was held at The Royal Navy Submarine Museum at Gosport. Like the one held recently, this was a great success with over 320 visitors through the door to see over 40 exhibitors!

After that event on Sunday, I drove back to the flat for another week at work!

On a personal note, I have categorised all the recent posts as “Getting my life back” and reading the last few posts it really does feel as if life is slowly getting back to normal – hence the title. Of course ithat normailty isn’t the same as it was, but a new normality, so I am very grateful for that. So on that note, I am hopeful that I will continue “Onwards and Upwards”!

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Yesterday morning’s ECP went uneventfully, as usual and I now only have one more double session left! I was on a small kit again, but the time seemed to pass quickly and I caught an early train back home (complete with sunglasses) but as the sun set, I left to return back to the flat – only getting halfway there when I remembered that I had intended to go to the dive club – by then it was a little late!

So it was back to work today, and then I’ll be going back home tomorrow for the weekend, but it has a been a good and upbeat week, so we continue Onwards and Upwards!

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As the title says, today was a day of checks and ECP, but I did say that I would write about the Bank Holiday weekend.

Saturday was a lovely sunny day, so I got a few outside jobs done, starting with a climb up onto the roof to refix the TV aerial to the chimney. Its a long way up and it was quite odd trying to pass lashing straps round the chimney stack, but it all went without a hitch and while I was putting the ladders away, it was an opportunity to sweep out the garage, and also run up the generator for a test. Those who don’t know about the generator, I described it here and here. Anyway, it started and operated without any problems!

We had a visit from Jon and Elaine in the afternoon. Jon was the other flatmate at University, and although we are in contact, e mail, Christmas cards, it is over 20 years since we last met up, so it was good to see him and catch up. There is a photograph, somewhere, so Jon, if you are reading this in Spain, please send it!

We had a reasonably leisurely Sunday, but in the late afternoon drove up to Oxford for a birthday party, given by another friend from University, Faith. A great evening at it was really good to meet up with some other friends from University, Tom, Barbara and Dina and their spouses. We have seen each other from time to time over the years, (and I was at Tom’s birthday bash last year) but we again had a catch up. It is true that the friends you meet at University where you share the ups and downs remain friends for life. They all rallied round when things were tough over the last few years, and I guess their influence when we were younger has helped shape me – so a heartfelt thank you is in order.

We went back to the flat, and then met up again at Faith’s on Monday. A slightly smaller gathering, but the time flew by in very convivial company. So thank you Faith – a very good ‘bash’!

Today I was up bright and early for two days’ of hospital. It started in the lung function laboratory – no results yet, but it seemed to be OK. Then down for the haematology check up with Dr Kazmi. Nothing untoward apart from a slightly elevated platelet count, attributable to the recent cold. I also saw Rachel, the dietician. I have put on a little more weight (67Kg) and my grip strength at 38.8 Kg is only 200gr lower than average, so that is good too. Perhaps time to start a little gentle training, and who knows, perhaps diving might be back on the agenda …

I took my notes over to St Thomas’s, using that as an excuse to travel on the staff bus, where I happened to bump into my original consultant, Robert. We had a long chat on the trip across London – it has been a while since I saw him.

ECP was uneventful, day one today, with the second session tomorrow morning. But this is the penultimate session, the last one is next month and then it is just monitoring, although if the GvHd does flair up again, I can have more – but the important thing is that it is under control – and I must say I do feel good!

So… Onwards and Upwards!

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It has a been a busy week, and a good weekend, and lots to talk about, but I am off tomorrow for a couple of days ECP, so it can wait until then.

However it is a year today since fellow blogger John died from an infection and from the side effects of GvHd after his stem cell transplant. It was partly as a result of his experiences that persuaded me to undergo the ECP to control my own GvHd. I have re-enabled the link to John’s blog (although the blog itself is still available anyway) should any of you wish to re-visit it.

John, you may be gone, but you are not forgotten.

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