Things are Hotting Up

I'm not feeling quite so well today so we decide to have a quiet day.
By the afternoon I'm back on the couch and under the duvet.
And my temperature is 37.6 C.

Getting too close for comfort - let's hope it's down a bit in the morning.

Stripped for Action

It's a beautiful day - in every sense.

It's strange to be in a new routine again - or is it an old routine? Getting showered and shaved is stll quite an effort and unlike the hospital, there's no seat in the shower. Getting ready takes ages but there's no rush.

There's a letter to be handed in to the Docs, so by late morning we're ready to set off. Temperature seems steady in the late 36 degrees Cs. That's my temperature but it's such a good day that the air temperature might easily be in the high twenties.

The Surgery is closed for staff training until 2pm so we walk along the entire length of North Berwick High Street and go for lunch at Tiffany's Tea Room. Haggis Stovies will do just fine for me.

The Biarritz of the North is at its best today and I'm glad to be here. (The Biarritz of the South or BIARRITZ would be pretty good too though.)

I'm a bit puffed oot and glad to be home. Liesl is out the back and shouts for me to open the door. There's an enormous parcel on the doorstep - and a smaller one too!

As I tear off the paper, the enormity of peoples' kindness and caring finally overwhelms me. Inside is a framed Preston Lodge rugby strip, signed by all of the players and of course Shona, whose brilliant idea it was. I don't know what to say. It's amazing. Totally amazing. What a team we are.

The smaller parcel was equally amazing. It's a Nintendo DS with a Brain Training game! This is from the girls who sit beside me at the rugby - the WAGs. And they're better than any you might read about in the papers.

Shona and Nicola have been down while we were out and so sadly we've missed them.

It doesn't matter how terrible an illness might be, when you've got this much support behind you, you just have to get better. There's no doubt.

Team Craig has many players and backup staff pulling together to make sure I get better. It's awesome.

Temp's crept up a wee bit - over 37 C now. Probably caused by all of the exertion and emotion.

Root Toot, I'm Oot ! !

Two weeks after I was admitted with a mystery virus thought to be linked to my Ulcerative Colitis, I'm getting home having been diagnosed with non-hodgkin's lymphoma probably caused by the use of a long term drug which was keeping the UC in check. It's a funny old life.

However, I'm very glad to be on my way. The staff here have been brilliant but it's time to go home.
Liesl has bought me a nifty wee thermometer because I have to take my temperature every four hours to make sure it doesn't fall below 36 degrees C and doesn't rise above 38 C. If it does then I've got to get in touch immediately. No risks are to be taken and I've not to catch any infections, so that means avoiding crowds and enclosed spaces.
When I came in, I could hardly walk from the car due to weakness. Now I can hardly walk to the car due to a different sort of weakness. I'll soon get fit again (stop laughing) by walking to the paper shop every morning.

It's great but emotional to see my house as we come down past the pub. It seems ages since I last saw it. It's great to be home.
For the first time I see the flowers sent by the NHS Scotland team at Atos - the messages of support continue unabated. It really is amazing. And humbling.

Liesl has bought a new duvet and sheets as part of the pristine and germ free house.
It's braw and cosy but I feel engulfed in it - like being swamped in a big meringue.
And when the lights go out, it's very dark.
Not dark like it was when I was in hospital, just dark - really dark. Scary!
I canny sleep but it's good to be home.

To Go or Not to Go . . ?

Not to go - apparently.

My temperature is still not perfect and I'm still coughing so The Lady from Del Monte says 'NO'. It's better to be safe than sorry so one more night in Ward 8 is recommended. It's probably for the best.

On the outside world, the National Gallery of Scotland has managed to raise £50 million to save Titian's 'Diana and Actaeon' for the nation.

Pretty good I suppose - I expect we'll all get to keep it for a week or so each. We'll probably put it above the fireplace when it's our turn.

It's one of Titian's greatest works and depicts the moment when the Goddess Diana met Actaeon. He was a famous Greek hero and was trained by a Centaur. I reckon it was a Friday because she's obviously dressed down for the occasion.

You don't get this sort of stuff in other blogs you know. It's all Greek to me too.

Good Riddance January, Hello February

Well apart from PL getting beat again, it was quite a good weekend.
One of my fellow in-mates is annoying me a bit - especially when he demands attention whenever a nurse enters the room. But it's ok, it's the weekend which means a slightly different routine and more sudokus and crosswords in the papers.

It could be my imagination but I think I'm feeling better. It really must be a magic potion.
Still coughing though.

Time for the (R-)CHOP

Right then. Here we go.
Maybe.

Have I mentioned my cough?
Well it's still going strong and as well as that, my temperature is up a good bit today. And I feel lousier than ever.
Dr Farquharson was keen that the chemo should start today but you're supposed to be infection free before you get it. Having cancer seems to be ok - you get it then!
The nursing staff can't get in touch with Dr F to find out whether or not to proceed. As time moseys by, my 5 o'clock discharge looks more and more unlikely.
Eventually, Dr F comes by sometime in the mid afternoon and she says GO GO GO! ! The quicker we get started, the quicker everything will be fixed. She also explained that as I had been (still am) quite ill, it would be better if I stayed in Ward 8 at least until Monday so that they can keep an eye out for any adverse reactions. Oh well, c'est la vie!

So, at 16.30 on Friday, 30th January 2009 I start gettng chemotherapy.
That's what people with cancer get. That's what I'm getting.
I told you I was ill.

I get the pre-meds, the drip with the 'R' bit goes up and off we go. The 'R' will take about 3 hours this time - it'll be quicker for future doses - and then the Bolus nurse injects the rest.
(Bolus: The injection of a drug (or drugs) in a high quantity (called a bolus) at once).
Liesl's here. We chat and laugh, ask the nurse questions and watch the miracle potions go in to do their stuff.
By 20:30 it's all over. Liesl goes home and I stay lying on my bed. I'd better not move in case I'm sick. Or nauseous. Or prickly all over. Or I might faint. Or I might take a seizure.
Do you think I've had too much information?
After about an hour I think "Sod this - I'm feeling fine" and get up to go to the loo.
Everything's going to be fine.

Settling In

Life in a room with six beds is a bit different to when I was in the wee room on my own. Much less room for all my visitors. But it's fine and the staff are brilliant. Michael's become a great pal and someone to talk to and get things explained by.
The plan has been decided by Dr Farquharson. I'm to have six doses of
R-CHOP chemotherapy - one dose every three weeks. I'll get another CT scan half way through and another at the end. If the nhl hasn't gone by then, I might have to get another two doses. Simple!
R-CHOP is a cocktail of five drugs - R for Rituximab, P for Prednisolone and you can look up the CHO for yourselves by clicking the link above. No tunnels or nuclear fission are involved - the drugs will be injected by syringes through the canula in my arm, except for Rituximab which is done via a drip. Normally, the doses will be given to me in Ward 1 as an out-patient but I'll get the first one here in Ward 8 on Friday.
So, the first dose will be on Friday morning and while chatting to Michael about it he slips in casually that I'll be home by 5 o'clock that day.
Home ! ! ?
I canny go home. I'm no' weel. I've got an illness. A proper illness. Even Iain Munn agrees that you're allowed time off your work when you've got cancer. It's an illness that you have to go into hospital for. I'm in hospital. It's too early to go home. I should be in for weeks shouldn't I?
Well apparently not - but that's great news.
I've still got that cough though. And I still feel lousy.