A Head Full of Stuff and a Week of Food

Monday 4th to Sunday 10th February 2008

During this week I have had a very interesting comment on my blog from Pete Korell of Wisconsin USA. Pete, firstly, I hope you had good news about your impending transplant. Yes, I would very much like to read your blog, so please can you post your details next time you view this. Do you have similar problems to me - a protein 53 defect with 17p and 11q deletions? I would also be interested to see if our age and health profiles are similar.

I have a quiet Monday at home, brightened by a call from Martin Stevens, asking how things are for me. He had been stunned to get the news of my transplant cancellation and again told me that as and when I was up to it, there was work for me to do with his team. Just what I wanted to hear! My head cold - or whatever it is - has continued right through the weekend. I have some suspiciously bright yellow catarrh coming from the nasal area, my head feels like it is full of cotton wool and I cannot hear very well. Apart from that I have no temperature and do not feel unwell, but I guess I have an infection there of some sort. I will see the team at Brighton tomorrow about it.

I go down to the RSCH on Tuesday for my Pentamidine nebuliser at 10am. I get a real soaking walking from the car to the Elton John Unit thanks to driving rain off the seafront. Then I am told that, due to sickness, the session has had to be cancelled. I go up to the Day Unit to have my head checked out. I have blood and nasal samples taken and am later seen by Sangeeta. I have an upper respiratory tract infection and am prescribed the anti-biotic Augmentin for seven days. As I am leaving the hospital I bump into an old work colleague, Brian Cartmell. We go right back to my first policing days in the late 60s! Unfortunately Vi has broken her wrist in a fall and is being treated here today.

We get a big surprise on Wednesday with a visit from John Mason, my best man from 40 years ago(!). We had lost touch over the past ten years or more, other than through Christmas cards, but Tina had put a note on our last card and John responded. We had lunch out courtesy of John. He has all but retired from his chiropody and lower limb surgery work after a 40 year career. It was really good to see him.

I am down to the RSCH again on Thursday for the morning outpatients clinic and am seen by Tim Corbett. My blood results today are - Wbc: 4.1; Neuts: 1.9; Lymph: 1.7; Hbn: 12.6; and PLT: 103. So I give myself a GCSF injection in the afternoon. As the fungal infection issue from last October / November has now settled, Tim is going to take me off Voraconozole and put me back on Itroconozole - as I now only need a prophylactic rather than a “treatment” medication. Deep joy - I don’t think! I am to have weekly blood tests and fortnightly outpatient clinic attendances from now on. We have supper and cards with Cath and Jim. Great fun!

This is turning out to be a week of much feeding - and the weather has changed to clear skies. Tina walks to work yet again on a bright sunny Friday morning. I am taken out for lunch by Simone and Ian, my old team from my last year at Lewes. It is really good to hear their latest news. In the evening we go down to Worthing for dinner out with Matthew and Charrise, to celebrate Charisse’s birthday of yesterday. A superb restaurant - called Food - and a very good meal. With two meals inside me today, I am fit to burst! It proves that I haven’t quite got all my appetite back yet!

I spend Saturday at home. It is a shame not be able to get out for a good walk in this lovely Spring-like weather, but I am still finding it quite hard just walking up the road to get my newspaper. I am still doing my lung clearing exercises once or twice daily and having an hour or more sleep most afternoons. We have Sarah and Paul over for dinner in the evening and I am not to bed until 1am - remarkable! We go to 10.30am Mass on Sunday and have Lynn Ross for lunch.