It turned out to be another positive NHS experience, in all its administrative glory. Arrived at Hammersmith for the minor operation at 07:30 (the procedure was planned for 08:00), the cuff (aka third nipple) was eventually taken out at 16:30. Eight hours of waiting around in a hospital full of sick people when you've got a weakened immune sysytem....just what the doctor ordered!!
Anyway, it's out now, so I'm really just waiting for the bone marrow biopsy, which will probably take place at the end of next week or beginning of the following. This aligns with 'day 100', which is typically when my paraprotein level will be at its lowest post transplant, so should give a true picture of how successful the transplant has been. The results generally take around a week, so I should know the score around the beginning of May, at which point my consultants will be making a decision on future treatment.
As an aside, I've made an interesting discovery over the past weeks. Having been invited around to some good friends a few weekends ago (my first 'post transplant' social), we decided to have a drink out on their terrace, taking in the first evening sun of the year. I hadn't put any sunscreen on, but after half an hour, decided to slap a bit on knowing my post chemo skin would be very sensitive. The following morning my face was completely red, itchy and puffed up around my eyes. I assumed I'd got burnt during my brief exposure to the 'fierce' early April sun the previous night. However, last weekend I went to watch Marcus play football, and seeing as it was partly sunny out, put on some factor 50 and wore a hat to further protect my face. I was only outside for a little while but sure enough the following morning my face was a mess....yep....even more than usual!! Anyway, to cut a long story short, after several 'experiments' it appears my skin is far more sensitive to sunscreen than it is to the sun! Could make life interesting later in the year, though hopefully by then I'll have hardened up a bit.
Other than that, my blood results remain fairly stable, I'm getting stronger and fitter as the weeks pass and my hair continues to grow....though apparently not at the rate required to avoid the 'wig cap' that Len and Marcus kindly purchased for my 46th birthday last week. How thoughtful!!
