I was ordered in no uncertain manner to keep out of it. There was little I could do to help other than organize the occasional cup of tea and make some lunch time sandwiches to be eaten on the run. My legs became badly swollen last weekend and have remained like tree trunks all week; I’ve had to keep them horizontal as much as possible. Also the slightly raised temperature business has continued this week but nothing like as high as the previous week. The miracle is that I have not been in hospital for the last fortnight; the medical team really began to take it more seriously and have been running dozens and dozens of tests trying to eliminate possible causes. I’ve had a chest X-ray and CT scan but all as an out patient; they’ve sent blood samples to Oxford and others to Glasgow for specialized tests. They are being amazingly thorough.
The end result will probably be to conclude that it is Graft vs Host Disease (GvHD). The timing of its start, just as the immuno suppressant Ciclosporin came to an end, would seem to fit. A little bit of GvHD is good; with a bit of luck the new immune system will clear out any remaining Leukaemia and get rid of my old system which had become tolerant to its presence. Hopefully the GvHD will not continue at a high level or they will have to restart me on an immuno suppressant. But if they do it will not be one as strong as Ciclosporin.One interesting fact has been thrown up by all the tests: my thyroid gland has become very under active. It may be the cause of the swollen legs and general feeling of tiredness. A course of Thyroxin should sort that out and then....
....maybe I can start working on my fitness again. The haemoglobin level seems to be holding steady at about 104 - not exactly brilliant - but enough to get by without a blood transfusion. Roll on the next 6 months ! Phase 3 here we come.
