Not Dead

Sorry for the long time no post! I am still here :)

A few bits and pieces have been happening since I last wrote an entry here. I now have a confirmed bone marrow donor. It is a male from the United States! So now I just need to have low doses of chemotherapy to keep the cancer from returning, then I go down to Wellington on the start of Feb for "conditioning". This is when they exterminate virtually every single cell in my body so the transplant can happen. Then I have 3 weeks for the bone marrow to take to my body and produce cells. Hopefully thats how it will go down.
I jokingly asked the doctors if a bone marrow transplant was harder than a heart or kidney transplant. They said "Without a doubt a bone marrow transplant is the hardest transplant a person can undergo". Moving on....

I was admitted into hospital unexpectedly the other week because I developed an infection. I was having really high temperatures and couldn't stop shaking. But the infection thankfully went away after spending 6 days in bed with IV antibiotics. I was home in time for Christmas though, but I couldn't eat what everyone else was because I am on a special "neutropenic" diet. This means I have to have everything peeled and fresh. I can't have anything cold (apart from grains etc.) or reheated. No cold meats or fruit with the skin on. These are preventions so I don't get an infection. Sounds extreme but an unwashed apricot or something could be the cause of a huge infection for me because of my low immunity.

I have a bone marrow biopsy coming up on the 6th of Jan and thats when they stick a very long thick needle into my hip bone and suck some bone marrow out to check if theres cancer cells in it. They are assuming I am in remission because my bloods are relatively stable. But this procedure hurts pretty bad, only local anesthetic is used but they cant numb the bone itself so it is pretty painful.

I am learning Guitar too!! I am ok at it, I can strum and shit now :P

I will update in the next couple of days! Hope everyone had a good Xmas!