Transplant Wellington

The last few days have been quite good. There was a bit of a drama at the hospital but thats a story I will save for another blog entry. I have been home the last couple of days and am getting daily visits by a district nurse. She flushes my hickman line, gets bloods and gives me an injection everyday (Clexane - A blood thinner to break down some clots in my lungs). Nothing important has happened really, I have had a lot of spare time and was thinking of buying Guitar Hero to try and master it.... or something.

Tomorrow (today? its quite late) is a big day for me. I have to travel down to Wellington and will be assesed for my bone marrow transplant. I think they will just check my out and run some tests then they might even schedule a date. My two sisters were tested to see if they will be matches so I should get those results tomorrow too. I am not too worried if they aren't a match, the doctors say because I am full Caucasian I have an extremely high chance of finding a donor. I would be put on a donor list that is worldwide and would find one easily. They said they have to refuse some people for the world wide donor database because there are too many for people like me (full white).

After the trip down to Wellington tomorrow shit starts getting heavy. I will be having big doses of chemo reguarly in prepation for the transplant which should be round December. Two offical "cycles" of chemo will be given. I don't even know how much is in a cycle but I am assuming it is lots because they want the transplant quickly. After the transplant has been performed I will be in isolation while my cells attach to the new bone marrow (thats the plan anyhow). This is when stuff like the common cold could kill me. Every defense I have will be gone, no white cells, nothing. Its like being reborn sort of. I don't think I can even bring outside things into the hospital with me after the transplant because they won't be sterile. Oh well, thats a while away in the grand scheme of things yet...

New chemo taste bud change. I have developed an obsession for Kiwifruit. I can't get enough of them, it seems it is the only thing I can taste without loading a ton of condiments on top of it. Oh and also Sweet and Sour pork. Everything else I eat tastes like........nothing? I can feel the texture of the food in my mouth and can get a tiny tiny amount of flavour but no where near as much as I used to. It is really quite frustrating not being able to taste and I self consciously load more food into my mouth to try and get flavour.

My hair is still here for some reason. I think its thinning? Or maybe I think its thinning because I expect it to? I am struggling to walk a bit at the moment. I can't feel my calves very much when I walk but I can feel my feet on the ground. It is an unusual feeling not being able to feel your whole leg move, it feels like sometimes my feet aren't attached.

One thing I have learnt with this second round of cancer is that life is pretty short. Things can change in an instant you know? Here, then gone the next second (does that sound poetic and academic? :P) My life has definitely changed already. I have become a lot more decisive and assertive (in a good way). I just feel like I don't want to waste anymore time anymore. Try to do as much as I can when the opportunity arises. I wish I could explain this better without it sounding cliche..... but I can't honestly compare it to anything I have experienced. Its like a new lease on life? Instead of talking about doing things I actually do them now. Good stuff.

Tomorrow I will update the blog with the results from my transplant appointment. Maybe some pictures too but requires so much effort.

P.S. Thank you for all the comments I have received on my blog. I do read every single one of them and would reply but can't be effed to be honest. Note to school people: I might come in for a visit for a couple of hours before I start on this huge dose of treatments.