Myeloma vs Jo (Round 2)

Lots of good news. I’m on day 32, walking around the local burbs, still a bit of an invalid but much more bouncy!  My hair is still falling out but Sarah has a her own way of dealing with that. I’ve modelled my wig (aka Samantha) but not sure I do blonde very well. What do you think? I’ve progressed from long dopey days asleep on the sofa to a local morning walk extending further afield as my legs get stronger. Sarah started it all off by encouraging me to get moving from Clark’s Park (next door) to 2km then 4km round McMahons point, Lavender Bay and Kirribilli. Slow progress as 4km took over 1 hour at first with lots of stops. Kirribilli has a historic foreshore - Ferries used to run from here pre Sydney Harbour Bridge. I’ve got to know and love several scenic benches (one in the middle of the Harbour Bridge)  This is Kirribilli foreshore from the bridge. as well as having time to photograph the flowers. The Jacaranda trees are gorgeous at this time of the year; out in full b...

After 14 nights and 15 days of captivity in Concord hospital I have escaped. Born again baby inside a 57 body.  I am out of danger, curled up on the sofa at home, with comfort blankie, Paddy and laptop. Thank you for all the messages of support, love, advice. I am not very brave or strong; I am mostly stoic but have cried like a baby several times in the last 2 weeks. It has been horrific. A process to endure. Something I wish never to repeat. The first three days went to plan The Central line insertion. (Day -2) I was sedated. I felt the knife go in but it was like a few taps on my skin (oh boy did it sting like hell later) The surgeon told me he had used 18cm of tube (right side under collar bone to heart)  The high dose melphalan (Day -1) infused along with litres of sodium chloride (saline) Deadly and toxic but did not feel a thing. The return of my stem cells (Born again Day 0). My precious stem cells came out of a deep freeze (having travelled from Christchurch to meet m...

Almost a month has gone by since Sarah left to visit our home in Arrowtown. I had great hope of joining her, but that is not the way to prepare for a stem cell transplant.  I asked the medics for approval to fly to NZ, but the answer was not what I wanted to hear. Instead of leaving Sydney for a couple of weeks, I was strongly advised to take care and to do much less; even to self-isolate if I could manage it. I was to avoid restaurants, theatre, crowds, public transport. No more socialising.  I spent 6 hours in the hospital undergoing pre therapy assessment. This included a gated heart pool scan to test if my heart is strong enough for the treatment ahead. So far so good. However, my blood levels indicate that whilst paraproteins have reduced to 3g/l (the cancer is still present) I am highly susceptible to infection. If I catch Covid or even something simple like the common cold, all treatment could be delayed.  For once, I have had to be sensible. For the last week, I h...