Friday… Late Effects Clinic and a trip down memory lane!
Jan 21st 2011PeterGetting My Life Back!
Yesterday saw me returning to Guy’s for my check up at Guys. It is 5 years sin ce the donor transplant, and the protocol dictates that I should have a bone marrow biopsy, and on Tuesday I received a phone call saying that one had been booked for me in the Haematology Day Centre.
So I duly travelled up a little earlier to go to the Day Centre – first surprise, it had moved, and a is now located round the corner in a much enlarged and very smart facility. However, while the location and facilities are new, there were some familiar faces, particularly Orla, who used to run the unit (and has moved on, but was back yesterday to help out), Karen, whio helped look after me during my various visits to Samaritan ward, Debbie and Grace, also from Samaritan ward, and finally, as I was leaving the unit, Yvonne, who used to run the day centre at St Thomas’s, where I first started treatment many years ago! It was wonderful to see you all and to catch up with all your news.
But is was strange being back in that environment. The site of the little canulas (or should that be canulae?), the red boxes marked “Danger – Cytotoxic drugs”, and the sound of the infusion pumps brought back many memories and mixed emotions. Having been so much a part of my life, I did feel like a visitor. The new unit seemed slightly less cosy than the old, but there is no doubt that it is an improvement. I was talking about these feelings with Orla, it is almost like being part of a family, and while the circumstances were not ones to be wished for, there were some good times during the various visits.
Orla did the biopsy (a new development – previously they have been done by a doctor. Lovely job too, almost painless and today no twinges at all. She did remark that my pelvis (to be accurate, the iliac crest) was particularly tough! I also had my armful of blood removed for analysis!
I was delighted to have a long chat with Michael, about two years into his treatment – so if you are reading this, good luck with the remainder of your treatment!
After leaving the unit, I went down to the Haematology 2 clinic where I had a check up. Nothing untoward found, but the protocol dictates that I have to have a bone density scan – ironic after Orla’s comments! I am also having another lung function test which will be useful with the diving!
I finished the day with a chat with Dr Raj, before heading for the train home. It was a bit of a dash and in my hurry I dashed for the wrong train, so by the time I had backtracked, I was an hour or so later than I expected getting home.
But it was a good day, lots of memories, catching up with old friends.
Tomorrow I am going diving (sheltered water, but it will be outside, so it will be a ‘chilly dip’ – perhaps I ought to take some nachos! 🙂
Onwards and Upwards!
It is about time I wrote a longer blog, and I did promise some photos from my trip to Lausanne. I did wonder if I was going to be able to go at one point – two days before departure I walked into the living room at home, and noticed a damp carpet. Closer inspection showed the central heating radiator had sprung a leak.
This photo (above) shows the sun setting on the mountain tops around Loèche-les-Bains. And the next day, a cable car, shown here took us to the mountain tops, well, at least the lower levels. Very picturesque and there are, as usual, more photographs in 
After the two days in the Alps, the remainder of the time was spent sight seeing round Lausanne. I certainly felt very well and very refreshed after my trip! The final photo (below) shows Loèche-les-Bains from the cable car during the descent.
And may I wish all my readers a very Happy and Peaceful Christmas.
The pictures show the Christmas trees here – the small one in the conservatory (nicely warmed up for the day, and the bigger one in the living room here, where I have just lit the fire to get that nice and cosy.
Most of the snow has gone, although this was the scene that greeted me last Friday after a heavy early morning snowfall! It was very pretty, and the sun came out mid morning, shining through the branches of the trees in the back garden. I managed to get this photo during the brief moments of sunshine!
I suppose we are no worse off (and probably better) than most of the country, but this was the scene that greeted us this morning. (and more pictures in the 
I have been on (play) school pick up duty a couple of times, bringing her back here, cooking her some tea (Scrambledy eggs!) and looking after her until Vikki can pick her up. It feels really odd hanging round with other parents – a real travel back in time! And it has been a while since I posted a photo of Livvy here – quite a change – she is nearly 4, born if you recall, when I was having a couple of health snagettes in Southampton General.
Although there isn’t much evidence of mellow fruitfulness in the garden (it was a good year for apples though) there was certainly some mist about as this photo, taken about 20 minutes ago, shows. It is quite nippy to, at a chilly 1 degree C, quite cold when compared with (say) Lausanne or Limoges, both at 5 degrees C. But it is warmer than it was; there was a layer of frost on the cars this morning. I’m glad I brought the geraniums in a couple of weeks ago!