BMT - 3

Haem: 112

White: 2.4

Platelets: 90

Neut: 2.2

Weight: 62.7

Numbers continue to go down a little each day - just as expected, but for me they still look really good - compared to the 2.5 years with myelodysplasia where haem was often 80 and below (with transfusion kicking in once it hit under 80 or in my case, under 70 and after I got on a plane with it at that level!).

My neuts for all that time were 0.6 and under - so seeing a figure in front of the decimal point makes me think things are going well.

My Busulfan has finally ended today, and with it came up everything I had eaten this morning (4.5 hours since breakfast!). Didn't think there could be that much left in my stomach - but it kept on coming. Another tablet later, and have cautiously eaten a toasted tomato and cheese sandwich and fingers crossed that stays down.

So, with everything leaving my stomach and not keen to top it back up again, the quality of my veins were assessed as tomorrow I will undertake 'apheresis' which separates the component of the blood cells (for me the antibodies) and then pump everything back into me. The output comes out of cannula (apparently a pretty big one) and input via the Hickman line (or maybe I have that the other way around!). So, I need to hydrate more to pump up my veins a bit. So, now I am saying - can't they just up the level of fluid being pumped into me??

I have been connected to at least one pump since I arrived here Monday last week (3 pumps for a few days). Fluid is the one consistent thing, at the moment only 20ml/hr which keeps me happy! I don't need to pee around the clock and I'm not so thirsty I can't keep up with the drinks.

I'm getting better at alarms - at what is a pre end infusion alarm, end of infusion alarm, blocked line, air in line - what needs attention and what can wait for a while!

So, maybe some interesting photos of my blood being 'cleaned' tomorrow - although I think we've seen the machine, and it's not that exciting!

Tomorrow I start the Thymoglobuline which runs for 2 days. Also known as the 'Rabbit' and also been referred to as the 'nasty' by previous bloggers. I'm sure I'll have my own tale of it at the end of the 2 days. I don't seem to be getting the same drug concoction as friend and previous blogger (crud4blud) so maybe some things have been ironed out in the 4 years between processes....

I will agree that for every thing they hook up to you, there is a handful of tablets given to you to stop the side effects. So the Clobazam effects kidneys and bladder - so we over hydrate you and give you tablets and lasic to make sure your organs are protected and flushed. Busulfan can cause seizures, but we'll give you the medication to stop that. I am not complaining on any of this - and behave myself taking the tablets when I told. There are some that the nursing staff have to stay in the room until taken - to make sure it is swallowed, and at that stage it feels a bit like a psych ward! Then again I was dancing the jig to the Australian jingle bells out on the ward yesterday - so I could be in the psych ward unbeknown to me!!

They say keep moving. I have a series of exercises to try and do every day (getting bored already with !) but try and do 5 + laps of the ward at least each morning. There is nowhere else to go - but they tell you to keep moving! I have suggested a treadmill with a virtual reality headset and then I could possibly go walking through the streets of Paris or London, or even better, in the African Plains - and as a herd of lions starts approaching me, they would get me running I am sure....

So not at the top of my game, but haven't zonked out yet - so Dr's are happy with how everything is tracking.

Week 1 done!