Quick update

I had a blood test this morning and my neutrifils are down to 0. That's to be expected. In a few days they'll go back up - hopefully!
I'm no longer staying in the hospital either but in the hostel opposite. I need to go in twice a day for observations and a blood test and if I get any infections I'm back in the hospital with an antibiotic drip. But am praying that wont be the case this time! However, the nurses are expecting it.
Am reminded that anything could happen anytime.
For a now though I have a room to myself with a shared kitchen and bathroom.
Will update you when there's more interesting news!

A long awaited update!

I apologise for not updating this sooner! Over the last couple of days I tried to upload a video of me talking about the latest news but it failed to upload. I'll try again sometime.
So for a now it's back to writing.
I came out of hospital on Wednesday night, pretty late, after having my last syringe of chemo and a couple of bags of blood. I left the hospital with a neutrifil count of 1.1 and I needed to go back straight away when they were at 0.5 as I'd be neutropenic and prone to infection which I can't fight. (Neutrifils are pretty much the immune system, as I understand it anyway).
On Thursday I just relaxed and caught up on a couple of things and on Friday morning I needed to go to Colchester hospital for a blood test expecting to go back to Barts on Saturday. However, on Thursday night mum had the pleasure of giving me an injection to boost my white blood cells. It'd been 20 years since she'd last given an injection and I was seriously considering giving it myself, but I lacked a third hand to hold the skin on my arm. After a bit of sweating it was done and very well too! Far better than some of the nurses at the hospital in fact!
Back to the point - I was expecting my neutrifils to have dropped but they had risen to 5.5 meaning I could stay home until Sunday! The result of the injection!
In the evening I went over to Fellowship Afloat where I work (www.fact.org.uk ) and spent some time with the guys there.
On Saturday I had a lazy morning with the guys from FACT coming over in the afternoon which again was great fun.
This morning began with a fry-up - bacon, eggs, black pudding, sausages - the works! So I was set up for going back to hospital. I had a blood test when I arrived which revealed that my neutrifils were down to 0.6, but I was allowed to go back home for the night which I've done!
On arriving at home I gulped down some dinner and then hit the road again to go to church in Danbury where I again saw friends and had a good time!
I'm pretty tired now and am not looking forward to the next couple of weeks. I go back tomorrow morning and will be prone to infection. It's likely I'll have mucositis again but on the plus I'll be back on morphine! I had some very bizarre moments last time. More on that later!
Next month, if all goes to plan, I'll be on a powerboat course, so I have something to look forward to! (The doctors don't know yet but they'll be fine with it!)
It's been a long day and sleep is much needed!
Will keep you posted!
(Apologies for any spelling mistakes or grammatical error but I have no will power left to make me re-read what I've written! I'm sure you'll get the gist!)

Exploring Barts!

The last couple of days have been quite interesting! A bit of a roller-coaster! 

I was under the impression that this round of chemo wasn't going to be as bad as last time; however, it's hit me quite a bit harder. Or the contrast to coming into hospital well and now not feeling that great has taken its toll. 

For the first few days I was sick and exhausted, but now I'm feeling a bit better. Tiredness is the main enemy right now, but I've found out that short naps throughout the day are very helpful!

It's irritating to not be able to do the things I'd love to be doing right now! Seeing what my friends are up to highlights what I'm missing out on. But I know that if all goes to plan I can return to do those things shortly. 

Last night I was just dropping off when a doctor came into my room. Was slightly surprised and worried at first, especially when he told me there was an emergency situation! But it was to do with another patient and not me. That was very relieving but meant that I had to move to a different bed in another part of the hospital (my room was designed for patients prone to infections - which I am not right now). So at midnight they wheeled me over to the old building. I again had a side room and a nice view over the city! Just now they moved me again to a newer ward where I have a massive room all to myself. It's rather nice!

Am over half way through my chemo - have two more days left! And then I'll return home for a couple of days until my immune system drops to 0. Then it will be another two to three weeks in hospital where I wait for my cell count to go up and hope and pray that I don't get an infection! 

That's about it for a now. Am going to head off to sleep.

I've had a look at the stats from this blog and am very surprised to see the interest it's receiving from all around the world. 

I am so grateful for all your thoughts, messages, cards, emails and prayers!

I'm battling on with God's strength!

More potions...

Looks like I'm writing this now!
So I came back to hospital on Monday but only started chemo yesterday. It's been a bit of a rougher ride than last time. Have been feeling more sick and exhausted but towards the end of the day I've been feeling better again. I have three or four lots of chemo each day. I have my final dose for today in about 15 minutes. 
Today I saw the consultant, Dr. Smith who told me a bit more of where I'm at. I responded well to the first cycle of chemotherapy, however, just because they can't see any leukaemia cells in my bone marrow at the moment they know it's still there so the chemo I'm having at the moment is trying to get rid of as many of them as it can. This reduces the chance of a relapse in the future. If the treatment goes to plan (after either two more cycles of chemo or a bone marrow transplant) I should have a 25% chance of living a life without the risk of a relapse. Normally it would be a 50% chance but since I have what's called a FLT-3 mutation on my cells, a result of the leukaemia in its early stages, the likelihood is reduced by half. However, I'm still optimistic that I'm in that 25% chance, God willing! He doesn't do statistics. 
On Tuesday I was allowed out of my room and as well as having a coffee with mum and dad we went to a church service around the corner. The chorus of a hymn sung goes like this:


"Great is Thy faithfulness!" "Great is Thy faithfulness!"
  Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
    "Great is Thy faithfulness," Lord, unto me!


God is good. He is faithful to His Word and His goodness. Each morning I see new mercies poured out on me. God has provided all things I need to get through this time. In fact He's the only thing I need to get through this time and I'm learning that more and more each day.


Now, time for a bit of magic potion and sleeeeeeeep! Have a good night friends!


Matthew

Good morning!

Good morning! It's me (Matt) again. I'm in my hospital bed waiting for breakfast to come (if it will, as I didn't put my order in!) having had a good nights sleep.
Yesterday afternoon I arrived at the new ward I was to be in and was shown to my bed in a room with about three other guys. They all had their curtains drawn and nobody spoke. It was a bit depressing, so I went to see the doctor and ask about my bone marrow results! They showed me that I'm in remission! I have responded to the first load of chemotherapy as planned and right now I do not have any leukaemia in me! That's a great thought! Because I'm in remission I'm allowed to continue with treatment to reduce the likelihood of it returning. So today I begin cycle two of chemotherapy which apparently shouldn't be as bad as the first round, which I didn't find that bad in the first place. The nurses said that they've seen people being hit really hard by chemo, but I found it fine. That's an answer to prayer in itself.
So this is great news! But still only the beginning of a long journey.
After receiving the news we went out for dinner at pizza express opposite St. Paul's in Paternoster Square which was really nice. It saved me from a plate of whatever the hospital were gonna shove down my throat! Following that I decided to say 'hi' to the guys in the ward I was in previously. When I arrived they apologised that my bed wasn't ready yet. I told them I was just saying 'hi' and that I was in 4A. But they'd decided to bring me back, not only to my old ward, but to the side room I was in last time too! Pretty cool!
So things are going well! And God's at work in this whole situation!

Life's becoming a bit more normal!

Right! So I'm writing the blog today! (Matthew)
Coming back home has been great. Each day I have more strength to do things. On Sunday I went to the beach but barely had enough energy for five minutes down there. It was great to see some beauty rather than the cold, stone courtyard of a hospital.
On Monday I had a blood test in Colchester which was very positive. All my blood levels have gone up which seems to imply things are going to plan. Walking around the hospital was a good work out too!
Tuesday I visited Fellowship Afloat in Tollesbury where I work. It was great to see my second family, the people I live with, and to spend time as though I was back at work (only I didn't do any work. I just watched).
Today I've just been resting up and doing nothing. It's been a great few days but they've also been quite exhausting.
I'm eating better and am slowly putting on weight - definitely something to do with Mum's cooking. And I'm slowly starting to sleep better too.
Tomorrow I go back to Bart's for the day for a bone marrow biopsy. There they're going to find out how I responded to the first lot of chemo. Hopefully it'll put me into remission! A bone marrow biopsy consists of a long, thick needle being dug into my pelvis. Not a great experience and not something I'm looking forward to. But I need to get used to it as I'll have one a month for the next year.
But I'm in good spirits and God is good. His strength is what's keeping me going 100%. People say to me that I'm an inspiration because of how I'm coping, but I wouldn't be coping with this trial like this without God. All the glory goes to Him.

Thank you everyone for all your support, thoughts, prayers, messages and cards! You're all being hugely encouraging. I look forward to catching up with you all when this episode is over!

News flash

It's Gisa writing again.
We heard yesterday afternoon that Matt's immune system is such that he can go home!
So today we packed his bags and now he's back with us for a short while. :)
His next appointments are a blood test and his bone marrow biopsy next week.
His next chemo is supposed to start in just over a week.
That was the good news of the week.

The not so good news is that Anna's bone marrow is not compatible with Matt's.  :(
They are looking to see if they find a donor elsewhere in the donor bank.
That's all for now.

Have a great weekend!

Friday 7 January 2011

This time I, Gisa, am writing the update as Anna is busy with College, therefore no idea for a good heading.  :(

Matthew is recovering from his Chemo treatment as expected and the Doctors are pleased with him, especially now that he started eating again! :)
His weight had gone down to 59kg, but he's working on that.
The physio wasn't needed after all, which is good. Matt sits in his chair on a regular basis now.
He said "farewell" to his last hair yesterday.
The next big thing is his bone marrow biopsy towards the end of his stay in hospital, which will check if the chemo has actually worked.

Please check this blog again, on which Anna will update next time that there is something new to tell.

Thank you for your interest and support!

No hair but still Matt

Gisa