Hospitals and Transplants

At last! I've managed to overcome all of the hurdles from the last chemo and now it should be clear sailing until after Christmas. It's been a pretty nasty couple of weeks though. I've spent around 10 days unable to get out of bed.

A swab test of my nose/throat came back positive for a strain of Influenza A. So yeah. As well as recovering from chemotherapy, I've been battling the flu. After a week of Tamiflu and bedrest I was feeling good again. That is, until the fever kicked in. A temperature of over 38C means that I have to go straight to A&E. That's just one of the cancer protocols. So off I went to the hospital. 

Grim.

Paracetamol was what I craved, but another cancer protocol is that I can't take any without supervision as it can mask other important symptoms. I was given paracetamol and the fever went away. Surely I could go home then? Nope. Turns out that my blood results showed impaired kidney function due to severe dehydration.

I had been informed from the beginning that I must drink a lot of water. I did not realised that this meant to drink around 4-5 litres a day. That's practically enough to swim in. Either way, I'm back home again now and you can always find me with a glass in my hand or in the bathroom. 

This kid is on to something... That actually looks like fun.

We've covered the topic of hospitals. Now let's talk about transplants.

My brother and I have had our tests and we are only a partial match for a stem cell transplant. This means that we will not consider using his cells if a better match can be found from the donor register. 

Stem Cells are eerily beautiful, don't you think?

Many people have approached me and want to be tested to see if they could be a match. Isn't that a lovely gesture! The best advice I can give is to join the Anthony Nolan donor register. You must be a UK resident, aged 16-30 and of good physical health. They will send you a 'spit kit' in the post which you can return. Your results will be put on the national database and if you match somebody in need of a donor, the charity will be in touch.

I expect to have a formal meeting with the Transplant Team very soon, but this has not yet been formally discussed. I'll write a new post when the next step of my treatment plan is clearer.

Until then, Merry Christmas!

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Joshua Lerner

Hi! I’m the 'star' of Livin' With Lymphoma. The blog was founded on the 31st October 2013, on the day I was diagnosed with Stage 4B Hodgkin's lymphoma. I hope you find it funny and informative.

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