Day -6 to -3

Well, it’s becoming obvious that I might not be able to spend too much time writing my blog. The chemo is usually infused into me in the morning, which means that the afternoon is not a great time to be in front of a computer. But I also realise that this time is when many will particularly want to know what is going on. So in order to keep the updates flowing, I will let some pictures do most of the talking. Thank you to Nicole for acting as my official photographer.

But I will offer some written descriptions when I can. The last few days (Days -6 to -3) have encompassed the end of my 5-day course of fludarabine, my admission to hospital, and my first dose of thymoglobulin. Thankfully, fludarabine never created any great side-effects and was a smooth ride on the whole, expect for some slight nausea from time to time.

I left my wonderful home on Sunday night to be admitted for my extended stay in Royal Melbourne Hospital. That was a particularly hard time saying goodbye to Jarrah, my mum and my home. Nicole, Jazzy and mum would still be regular visitors, but the simple act of packing my bags and walking out that door made the whole transplant experience feel very, very real.

The reason I was being admitted was that the chemo regime was to be stepped up a notch or two. Yesterday was my first introduction to thymoglobulin and it wasn’t fun. The nurses had forewarned me that I can almost certainly expect a decent fever and some chills on this drug. And they weren’t wrong. About three hours through the six hour infusion, the nausea hit me. From there I was vomiting, had a high fever (up to 39.7°C) and had heavy shakes and chills.

On thing the nurses told me on my admission, was that they will never let the side-effects get too messy. There is a whole host of other different drugs that they can give me to lower the intensity of any side-effects I might be feeling. But because every individual responds in different ways, they must first establish which side-effects I am experiencing first before they can treat it. But there is an awful lot of comfort in knowing that these remedies are available.

Today will be a double hit of thymoglobulin and melphalan. Melphalan is a heavy-hitter and is the drug that will kill most of my existing blood system. And yes, it does come with a impressive list of side-effects.

Anyway, that’s all from me until after transplant day on Thursday.