BMT + 67

HB:84

WH: 6.0

PLT: 92

NEU:4.4

Weight: 61.00

Another week. I've now been at the hospital (or alongside it) for 77 days). I knew 3 months was what they said but I truly believed we'd be home earlier than then! However, once down here they said 100 days, plus the first 10 days of conditioning treatment (Chemo) are not counted in that so our 100 days is not until Easter, but I certainly plan to be home before then.

It does rely on what the test results from today's bone marrow biopsy are - which I will find out next week.

So what has happened since last Monday?

Had 2 bags of blood on Tuesday which was most of the day and then Wednesday felt a bit better and went for a short walk through the park - but not all the way around again. Had a good sleep as there was a big night ahead. Anth and I and Katy headed off to Queen concert. We borrowed a wheelchair from the apartments to help get me from the car park to the stadium and off we went.

I hadn't wanted to get too excited about the concert as it was really only from the week before that I was sure I was able to go. Once we arrived I was quit excited! It was fantastic and great to be singing along with songs from my teenage years. Slept most of Thursday and Friday to recover!

On Saturday I met up with 2 lovely ladies who are around my age and also have MDS. We have connected through the MDS Facebook page and 4 hours later we emerged from the cafe. I am sure we could have kept talking for another couple of hours. I am glad to hear that this blog is of interest to those facing BMT which (apart from bulk updating friends and family) was one of my main aims of starting it. I just know I wanted as much information as possible before the BMT from real life experiences.

Saturday afternoon Anth and I took a drive down the South Coast. Our aim was to go to Berry, but we pretty much arrived as everything was closing up, so we drove through Berry, then continued onto Kangaroo Valley. We decided to then find some accommodation. Now, if you know me, to leave something like finding accommodation to the last minute is not like me at all - but when we talked about it on Friday night, we decided we wouldn't know where we were going to end up so just play it by ear. Well, all of Kangaroo Valley was booked out (apparently 2 weddings in town for the weekend) but via Booking.com found 1 motel room in Robertson. Not quite what I had in mind, but better than sleeping in the car! We had dinner at the pub in Kangaroo Valley and then headed off.

We woke Sunday morning with torrential rain! So, in one way I'm glad we weren't driving out of Kangaroo Valley on the winding roads in that rain. We headed out of Robertson (via the Pie Shop) via the tourist route to the coast and then essentially drove up the grand pacific highway - the coastal route. By then the rain had eased a little and although we didn't do much, it was a nice drive and I finally went over the Sea Cliff Bridge!

So today was clinic again with bone marrow biopsy.

Haemaglobin is holding steady after transfusion last week - but again I thought it would be much lower for how out of puff I am.

Platelets have fallen in the last 2 weeks but I was told today this is nothing to worry about (although there is never any warning that these things may happen). Apparently they expect a change as the short term production starts to change to the long term production which is the stage I am at.

Also given to me was a 'Get Well Card' from my German Donor. It was anonymous, and a short little note, but I burst into tears reading it. I had asked about sending a note to the donor but had been told this is done at 12 months, although today was told this was not right. It is when I think about how to say thank you that I tear up - how do you say thank you to someone on the other side of the world for providing you with a 2nd chance at life? So I think I need to work out the wording before I actually write on the card, otherwise it will be a mess.

Back now to waiting for results next week.