Sunday 12 July 2009

Tears are streaming from my eyes, my head is throbbing, my tongue feels like it has swollen to ten times it’s usual size I have a tingling sensation above my cheeks and there are beads of sweat in places I had no idea there were even glands…….

No the cancer isn’t back and I don’t have swine flu. I have just tasted one of Paul’s new chilli concoctions. Forget the hummus, Paul is currently obsessed with making these amazing chilli sauces which are bloody lovely. Hot – freekin’ hot - but really bloody nice. He has been in the kitchen all night and is currently blitzing away a roasted garlic version. We already have a very faithful friends and family following, so I know that a few people will be excited to hear he has come up with a lime version as well………Fran and Sean; he has already put aside a jar for you both………

Anyway back to business. Time is edging closer to ‘body zero’. I write this because apparently when Paul has his transplant his current immune system will be wiped out and a new one put in so all the infections his body has memorised, like chicken pox and measles etc will no longer register. I really have to do more reading on this because it doesn’t seem right even as I am writing it. In fact most of the science behind stem cells and transplants makes me realise I am stuck in some 60’s science fiction fanzine as far as understanding the processes it takes to rebuild Paul. As far as I’m concerned the transplant is up there on a futuristic level with flying cars and living on the moon.

But with a little tutoring from Paul (and a big envelope of paperwork) I am managing to grasp the basics. Since I last wrote they have found another donor who is a 10 match (the best) so that means less risk of graft v host syndrome where the body rejects the donor tissue. So that’s bloody brilliant. It might put the transplant back by a week or so till they can sort everything out but that’s fine.

I do really need to fill you in properly on what is exactly in store for Paul. I think it will help me to see it in black and white. But I need to read this big envelope of paperwork in full before I can do that. I know it’s going to be pretty bloody shit for him. Any paragraph that is titled ‘Full Body Irradiation’ does not fill your mind with vision’s of kindly nurses administering tiny little injections from time to time.

Will write more tomorrow. Have decided to take kids out of school and playgroup as swine flu is getting too close to home. Therefore, will have more time on hands as we batten down the hatches for the next couple of weeks and will be able to write more frequently from the frontline.



No comments:

Post a Comment