Day Zero

So today was the day that a little army of good stem cells were implanted in me to fight the battle against the dreaded POEMS. The first thing you notice is the foul smell of the preservative that was mixed with the cells before they were frozen. If that's not wretch-inducing, then what follows is. I was surprised by this actually. I wasn't prepared for the fact that the process of putting the stuff back into me would make me feel so ill. But ill I was! I started by rambling away to the nursing staff and the transplant technician. But then foul feelings of queasiness came over me. Once the transplant was over, a process of about an hour, I started to feel a little better but it has taken about four or five hours before I felt I could eat something.

Earlier on I saw one of the consultants and he said there's no reason why my leg nerves shouldn't heal within several months and hopefully this means I can get back on my feet - literally!

Finally,during the madness of the transplant, Rob Davies turned up. I haven't seen Rob in over twenty years and it was an odd reunion but hey Rob, thanks for being there it was an enormous help.