Friday… a momentous day!
May 22nd 2009PeterGetting My Life Back!
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!