Day release, deep clean and diarrhoea

This weekend saw ward 44 closed on Sunday for a 6 monthly deep clean. Patients are moved to other wards in the hospital for the day whilst the ward is deproxed & deep cleaned. The doctors had indicated earlier in the week that if on Sunday I was well enough and my blood levels were safe I could spend the day at home on day release.

This was a fantastic incentive and something to really look forward to. On Saturday when I asked the doctor whether I would still be OK to spend Sunday at home she said I could spend Saturday there too as long as I cam back at 9pm.

So Saturday and Sunday I spent at home. It was great to see the kids - we didn't tell them so it was a mega surprise for them when I walked in and there were lots of tears. It was also good to actually walk out of my room, to walk on carpet at home, have a bath, sleep for an hour or 2 in my own bed.

It was also nice to spend time in my own environment with Jen - although she was that busy trying to make my short stay as comfortable as possible I'm not sure she sat down for much more than 10 minutes.

My blood levels are on the decline which is to be fully expected and I have developed diarrhoea which again is par for the course but the visit home have given me the spur to tackle the forthcoming weeks events with renewed vigour.

This is tough, tougher than I ever thought it would be - the psychological side in particular but I remain positive and am determined to get home and get better as soon as possible so I can get on with the next part of my life.

Ho Ho Ho (not so Jolly) Green Giant

Following Monday's high dose chemotherapy I received my stem cells back on Tuesday. It was a bit of anti-climax to be honest - 6 months chemotherapy, high dose chemotherapy x2, stems cell harvest to be given my cells back in a 15 minute transfusion. I'm not complaining, some people have to have 20 bags of transfusions over 2 days, my cells were so concentrated that I only needed 1 bag which is quite rare. I like being rare.

The preservative they use when freezing the stem cells after harvest results in a sweetcorn taste and smell during and after the transfusion. Jen says I smell like the Jolly Green Giant!!!

I was admitted onto ward 44 on Wednesday morning and have a room with a view of the atrium which is where Manchester Royal Eye Hospital is. It's great for people watching.

I'm in isolation with strict restrictions on me and people entering my room/visitors etc.. and I am incredibly bored - as those who follow me on various forms of social media will testify - their timelines will be full of my postings and retweets - sorry 😕

My blood counts are expected to start to drop from today and I will become poorly over the weekend as the Melphalan chemotherapy wipes my immune system out. Then my system will begin to build up again - a sort of reboot of my bone marrow - and hopefully I will improve enough to go home.

I remain positive and keep telling myself it's a short term pain for a long term gain. I know I am lucky and I do think about people who were close to me who have lost the battle with cancer. Ward 44 in particular brings back difficult memories.

Thanks for all your messages of support - it is overwhelming the number of messages I have received.

I will update when there is something to update about. In the meantime have a lovely Bank Holiday Weekend.

It's in, but there's no room at the inn....

Just a quick update from today. It's been a long day....

Arrived this morning and started the pre-meds - a diaretic, anti-sickness and steroids (all IV) combined with a myriad of tablets too.

There was a delay in the chemotherapy drug called Melphalan - it's so toxic that it's made up in the lab and only has an expiry life of around 2-3 hours. Upon checking it, the pharmacist noticed some matter floating in it and rejected it - therefore a new batch had to be made. This meant I only received it at around 4pm. That also means I will only received my stem cells tomorrow at around 4pm (there has to be 24 hours between).

Unfortunately there was an urgent admission, someone who is very poorly and therefore I will be spending the night on the day unit - which is now closed, as there are no spare beds.

I've got the whole unit to myself 😃😃😃

So step 1 is complete - the High Dose Chemotherapy is in my system - I'm likely to feel the full effects by weekend.

I'll get moved onto the ward at some point tomorrow when they manage to create some room and will hopefully receive my stem cells too.

Will update tomorrow......

The Pagefield Lineman

Today was my final visit to MRI before being admitted on Monday for my transplant. The purpose of today's visit was to have a PICC line inserted. A PICC line is a quicker way of taking blood or giving fluids, in my case chemotherapy followed by stem cells rather than having to keep putting a canular into your hand or arm. It's a couple of external tubes connected to a line than enters the vein in my arm and then runs to the entrance to my heart via the vein. It's a fairly simple procedure,which takes around 5 minutes in total. The nurse struggled to get the line in my right arm and after 3 failed attempts decided to try my left arm and successes first time. It's left me with a lovely iodine t-shirt fake tan though.

The line gets cleaned and flushed regularly and the dressing changed once a week. I need to wrap cling film around it to keep it dry in the shower. We're ready to go for Monday.

It got me thinking about lines and in particular songs with the word lines in them. So here is a little competition for all you blog readers. In the comments section below or in the comments section on Facebook or via replying in a Tweet - wherever you pick my blog up from, give me as many songs with the word line in. Here's a few to start you off

Artic Monkeys - Fake Tales of San Francisco "and all the weekend rock stars are in the toilets practising their lines"

Frank Turner - Get Better "she drew a line across the middle of my broken heart and said come on now let's fix this mess"

And the song that inspired the title of this blog Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman

I'll update following Monday's chemotherapy session. Thanks for all your kind words and support.

Pre-Transplant preparations complete - check.

Last Thursday Jen and I went to MRI for a series of pre-transplant checks and a consultation with the transplant doctor to sign consent forms etc..

The checks involved a number of blood tests, swabs, ECG and chest X-Ray. The main purpose being  to make sure I am fit enough to go ahead with the procedure as well as making sure I am not carrying any infection that would compromise me or any other patient.

The consultation with the doctor went into detail about the procedure, I'll be having high dose chemotherapy followed by receiving some of the stem cells that were taken from me on the 26th July. Each stage of the process involved signing a consent form.

I was then given a tour of the ward where I will stay in isolation until I'm fit enough to return home.

So other than a final trip to MRI this Friday (19th August) to have a chemo line fitted that's all the pre-transplant stuff done.

I will be admitted to MRI as an inpatient on Monday 22nd August when I will receive another course of high dose chemo this will be known as Day -1

The following day, Day 0, I will receive around 2 million of my own stem cells back via my chemo line.

The clock then starts ticking in terms of how quickly my blood counts return to a level where I am safe to go home. I will be in complete isolation, restricted to only 2 visitors a day, visitors that have to wear a gown and gloves before entering my room. Unfortunately children under the age of 16 cannot come onto the ward so I won't be able to see the children for the duration of my stay in hospital.

So I'm currently making practical preparations - updating my iPod with new tunes, making sure I've got headphones, puzzle books, reading material etc.... As well as toiletries, PJs etc

I've got a fridge in my room but I reckon having Captain Morgan along for the journey might be a bridge too far.

I'll update my blog from hospital so people can keep up to date with my progress and not feel like they are mithering Jen.

However as a final footnote I would like to draw your attention to a group of friends who are running the Wigan 10k on Sunday 5th September in aid of Myeloma UK. I did intend running too, however it's clear I won't be fit enough to do it, if I'm even out of hospital at that time.

They are truly a great bunch who have been training for a while (and sustaining injuries in doing so) so any donations would be very very welcome.

www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Steven-Martlew1