Started feeling rough earlier in the week so ended up in Haematology Day Case Unit in the middle of the week having blood tests. The upshot of this was back to hospital with another dose of septicaemia, the third episode in about six or seven weeks. The antibiotics clear it temporarily but don't stop it coming back. This time I'm on one of the haematology wards thank goodness so the nurses all understand what is going on, standards of hygiene are very very high (this is the stem cell transplant ward) and I have my own room with an en suite shower room, so some peace and quiet at night.
Every time Karine and I plan anything it seems that events overtake us. My sister had offered us the use of her cottage in Ashford-in-the-Water and we had thought of having two nights there early next week - ho hum, dream on! "We are such stuff as dreams are made on" as someone once said! (WS - The Tempest) - well it is 400 years since his death and of course his birthday as well!
Meanwhile back in the real world the plan now is to try a light therapy called ECP, Extra Corporeal Photophoresis. The idea is to take some blood, about a pint, spin off the white cells and treat them with a drug which is then activated by UV light and given back to me. The drug will then kill off some of the cells that are attacking my insides and reprogramme my bone marrow not to go on producing these cells in the future. That's the theory anyway. This will be twice a week for eight weeks initially. There isn't a great deal of published research on ECP for GvHD of the gut but it appears to have about a 50% chance of working.
The day I came in here I had another bone marrow aspirate. As usual the initial result will be back in about a week and the detailed results in about three weeks - fingers crossed!
* Shakespeare - Henry V - Act III
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