Well, that went as well as can be expected, Grommit
Off to Wake Forest full of hope and expectation. Well, it was a nice drive. It turns out that all the gunk I have been swallowing and having stuck in me has not been as successful as needed and anticipated. So, while I feel better than I did, I am nowhere near remission which is where I should be by now. The chemo is bumping off the nasties in my blood stream but it is also bumping off the good bits so we've got to get more aggressive while I've still got some viable marrow.
This means the next step is to up the power of the chemo, filling me up through a vein infusion rather than a quick jab in the gut. That's likely to give me a real taste of the traditional chemo side-effects of vomiting and diarrhea should be fun at school.
I get this week off from chemo capsules which will give my body time to recover before I start the nastier stuff (whose name I can't remember but rest assured it will be branded on my brain as much as the others ere long). As part of the change, I will be having a couple of bone marrow biopsies taken - that's where they numb my hip and then drill a core out of it with a flashy looking electric drill. If you don't like the sound and burning smell of having a filling, try this one for size.
The eventual, for now, aim is to spend 3 weeks or so in Wake Forest Baptist Hospital having a stem cell transplant. Because I am insured via Medicare, I am obliged to stay in the hospital - if I was insured via Blue Cross or similar, I would be able to stay in a local hotel (probably at a lower cost and definitely with a larger television). It's probably wise to do it that way as I'm going to be quite susceptible to infection but not as seriously as Bill's comment on another post. If all goes to plan, this should all take place at the beginning of December. Driving over the Eastern Continental Divide at that time of year is a thrill in itself. The doc assures me that there is a 99% survival rate from the transplant which is nice to know - he did at least have the decency to call me fit and young and otherwise healthy.
So all round, life is looking pretty average right now - we're all optimistic and Susan, as always, is being an absolute brick.
Joke from the wall of the nurse who took my blood sample today:-
Nurse - Mr Jones, we need to get a stool sample, a sperm count and a urine sample.
Mr Jones, to his wife - What did she say?
Wife - She wants your underwear.
This means the next step is to up the power of the chemo, filling me up through a vein infusion rather than a quick jab in the gut. That's likely to give me a real taste of the traditional chemo side-effects of vomiting and diarrhea should be fun at school.
I get this week off from chemo capsules which will give my body time to recover before I start the nastier stuff (whose name I can't remember but rest assured it will be branded on my brain as much as the others ere long). As part of the change, I will be having a couple of bone marrow biopsies taken - that's where they numb my hip and then drill a core out of it with a flashy looking electric drill. If you don't like the sound and burning smell of having a filling, try this one for size.
The eventual, for now, aim is to spend 3 weeks or so in Wake Forest Baptist Hospital having a stem cell transplant. Because I am insured via Medicare, I am obliged to stay in the hospital - if I was insured via Blue Cross or similar, I would be able to stay in a local hotel (probably at a lower cost and definitely with a larger television). It's probably wise to do it that way as I'm going to be quite susceptible to infection but not as seriously as Bill's comment on another post. If all goes to plan, this should all take place at the beginning of December. Driving over the Eastern Continental Divide at that time of year is a thrill in itself. The doc assures me that there is a 99% survival rate from the transplant which is nice to know - he did at least have the decency to call me fit and young and otherwise healthy.
So all round, life is looking pretty average right now - we're all optimistic and Susan, as always, is being an absolute brick.
Joke from the wall of the nurse who took my blood sample today:-
Nurse - Mr Jones, we need to get a stool sample, a sperm count and a urine sample.
Mr Jones, to his wife - What did she say?
Wife - She wants your underwear.
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