Falling off a Cliff

The past two and a half weeks have been a whirlwind. It seemed that for a long time my body was struggling on with all of the various ailments I was suffering which I put down to age and aching muscles and I carried on virtually unaffected until I broke my fibula. Even the shoulder …

Chemotherapy (VCD) – Basics

Information here is taken from various booklets received by me and interpreted in a non-expert way - they should not be taken in any other context than my own - possibly muddle opinions. Chemotherapy is not a single thing. It is not a static process but a dynamic one which combines different drugs taken over …

Yoyo Blood

I've never liked looking at blood - I can cope with needles but blood extraction is a nightmare - yet I have had to endure daily blood tests and continuous stabbing. My arms look like a heroine addict there are so many puncture holes. All this has been the result of my blood contents and …

Shrinking World

Just over two weeks ago we were enjoying life on the equator and soaking up the sun on Diani Beach, South of Mombasa in Kenya and visiting Nairobi.   I had just accepted the role of Head of ICT at International School Seychelles in the middle of the Indian Ocean - we were moving there …

M.E.A.U

Mobile Emergency Assessment Unit (M.E.A.U) for short was my location for 5 days from Thursday to Monday. It's a holding bay where patients are kept and treated whilst awaiting transfer to the main wards.I was needing to be transferred up to the Haematology Ward but there were no spaces so I was treated in M.E.A.U …

Robbery

I was stuck in ACH and desperate to talk with Anita - she knew I had gone there to look at a potential DVT but no more. Yet for over 20 hours we did not communicate. Thoughts ran wild! She was over 4000 miles away. Had there been a car crash, was she or my …

DVT and Kidney Damage

Deep Vein Thrombosis or DVT. We have all heard about it and it is potentially deadly. A risk of long-haul flights and something of which to be very aware. It is a side-effect of the Myeloma that the blood becomes more sticky and therefore more prone to clot - therefore more likely to encounter DVT. …

Arrivals

Back in the UK for the first time in 8 months I noticed the cold. Gladly my in-laws had bought some warm coats with them along with more supplies of long-sleeved tops and trousers. A more relaxed wake up time, the first in many days and a gentle walk through Harlow woodland with my sister-in-law …

Journeys

A day in Nairobi and I needed to get out and do something. For one I had no 'winter clothes' with me. One long sleeved top, no long trousers, two pairs of socks. I had packed for a short holiday on the equator, plenty of shorts, t-shirts, swimming trunks, a pair of sandals and fortuitously …

Departures

The bills were racking up. I had been in Aga Khan for  two days and had had a number of tests but the Insurance were adamant that this was a chronic condition and that as such there was a limit on the amount thy would cover. As this is a matter of (possibly legal) conjecture …

Nairobi

Our plans had changed once more.  Our two day return trip to Nairobi had been rearranged to allow for the MRI and follow up consultation before we were take the bus back to Mwanza on the Friday overnight. Now this too was going to have to change. Changes were coming thick and fast. My wife …

Five Months

The starting point

Two Weeks

Discovering the Myeloma

Battling the Bone Breaker

My Personal Fight with Multiple Myeloma