Since going back home on July 13th, I visited the day hospital 3 times already. Each time, doctors explained me that they were happy with my recovery! I jus have some red spots on the skin, which can be seen as a sign that the graft is working efficiently. It is called a fight between host and guest but it can be kept under control using the cyclosporine.

Today, I got the results for the first myelogram done at D + 30 last thursday: everything is normal! Yes!

I also got the blood analysis results: I did not have an analysis like this one for years:I am almost back to  a normal analysis with just a small defificit in red blood celles and platelets…

We still need to be extra careful with the food and the cleaning of my environment…

The mainly difficulty I am facing now: being tired and having little energy!

I will have to be patient!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I came back home on wednesday July 13th, after just 4 weeks spent in the hospital. It was so fast that it surprised everybody, including me !!!!But I will not complain: I am so happy to be home :-)!

Part of this speedy “recovery” is linked, I guess, with the hematopoietic stem cells ‘s donnor. I know a little more about her (yes it is a her!). Of course, as a rule in Europe everything is anonymous, so I will never know from where she is and who she is. I learned that my donnor is a very young woman born in 1990! Because she is so young, her stem cells are very active, so just they were injected in my body, thay started to work almost immediatly. Another very important point is that she was 100% compatible with me! I have been so lucky (Jaja suggested that I should buy a lottery ticket!

The only action which will be allowed in direction of my donnor is to send her a thank you letter, which I will write soon…

Tomorrow, I will pay my first visit to the day hospital. They will do some analysis, like the concentration of cyclosporine in my bood, as welle as blood cells count. Because the stem cells are working so well, I might not need any blood transfusion…

The next visit to the day hospital will be on thursday. It will be D + 30 after the graft; This time, I will have a myelogram done: it is the better way to check how the stem cells are working. It will also be a way to check how close I am to become “a chimera”! As seen on the top photo, a chimera is “an animal” which is made of two different animals, like a lion and a gazelle on the photo. It means that the animal is containing two different DNAs. In my case, it will be similar: I will have my old historical DNA for the old parts of my body, but will have in all the things connected with blood the new DNA of my donnor: I will a chimera! Before having to deal with that personnaly, I even did not think that it was possible to live with two DNAs!

To end up this long presentation, here are some photos as I was leaving the hospital and some photos at home!

This morning, I had a regular visit with the doctor. On his way to leave the room, he told me: well you have antibiotics for a few more days, what about going home next wednesday July the 13th?

What a news! What a schock! As we say in french: “je suis sur le cul” (I am on my ass)!

From the begining, with Jaja, we were thinking that I might need to stay in the hospital for around 6 to 8 weeks….

Anyway, I am very very happy and I wanted to share with you this great news!!!!!!!!

In order to leave the hospital, I need now to exchange the  system used at the hospital (chemicals given by injection in the blood) by a solid state approach: it is the key to be able to leave the hospital. Tonight was the first step: I had cyclosporine in pills! This stuff needs to be taken every 12 hours sharp…It should be OK if no side effects!

A few days ago, I had to be shaved, as my hairs started to leave my head: how do you like mu new haircut? It might last a few month before I got new hairs…. It is not so important!

Tonight, we have Portugal-Wales in football: it could be sweet to have “the brexiters” kicked out ;-)!

Dear All, I am not really sure where I left you before stopping “activities”!

Anway,w e experienced some delays with the graft coming late in Paris. The D Day (Jour J) of the graft was june 24th. The graft is not a real “special medical event”, just a transfusion. Everything went fast and was done in less than one hour.

Because of the chemotherapy, I already had some “problems” (fever, plumbing problems…) I had difficulties to eat, so I had a nice device installed on my nose to feed me directly….I did not like it but it was the only way…

I had hard times during a few days (fever until they got the suitable antibiotics, no energy, tired).

After, those few days, I feeled much better…..A week ago, I got the news from the doctor: aplasia was behind: ppmhk the return!