Me and my pneumothorax

So, a little more detail on the trials and tribulations of a bloke with a dodgy ticker…..oh yes, and myeloma thrown in for good measure!! As I briefly mentioned yesterday, things have been progressing smoothly since the operation. I ended being kept in hospital for an extra couple of days as unfortunately my surgeon punctured a small hole in my lung during the procedure, which resulted in a pneumothorax. This is where air that leaks from the lung gets trapped between the lung and the chest wall, causing a collapse of the lung. In my case it was relatively minor and actually resolved itself by spending the following week focussing on deep breathing to expand the lungs. Fortunately, no need to put in a drain, which is good news….didn't really fancy that! In my surgeons defence, apparently the procedure was more tricky than usual, as my veins have narrowed considerably due to the chemotherapy I've received and my lungs are quite large, as I'm damn good looking. Not his words…... exactly…..but it sounds plausible!!

After seeing my consultant last Friday for the all clear regarding my pneumothorax, I'm now focused on stretching my chest muscles around the wound and mobilising my shoulder. After initially being a tad paranoid that I'd end up ripping out the ‘jump leads’ attached to my heart, I'm getting more confident to use my left arm normally. As usual, I want things to progress quickly, but as my good lady reminds me, it's only been a week and a half since the operation. Most importantly, having been shaved in various areas prior to the operation (some of which I don't fully understand, but I'm not going to be the one to ask), my hair is starting to re- establish and my mangy stray dog look is rapidly disappearing!!

So, what else is there to tell. Well, I'm planning on getting back behind the wheel this weekend. My consultant has confirmed that as far as he's concerned I'm fit to drive. I've also informed the DVLA and my insurance company, so I'm good to go!! As far as golf is concerned, it's off limits for another four weeks.

These pacemakers are amazing little devices. The one I've had installed is an MRI safe, dual chamber pacemaker, with electrodes placed on my right atrium and right ventricle. It passively monitors the heart and only kicks in when it senses that my heart has missed a beat. When it does trigger, it paces my heart at the same rate it was beating prior to failure, and then switches off when my heart resumes normal operation. Battery life’s a bit more than your average smart phone and should last 8-10 years. Guess where it's made, yep, Sweden. Is there anything they don't do….Spotify, Skype, Bluetooth, Minecraft….taxes!!

That's enough of the technical stuff. As I said at the beginning, physically I'm healing well. I've also now come to terms with having a pacemaker fitted. I wasn't in such a good place when I had the operation, it all felt very sudden and didn't give me any time to get my head around things. I know it had to be done quickly, but I didn't feel I had much control over what was happening. Similar to my myeloma experience, as I return to normality, things become a lot easier and eventually it all becomes part of the routine. My heart condition is now sorted…..so that's one less thing for me to worry about!! Back up to Kingston hospital this afternoon for my monthly Zometa (bone strengthening infusion). Back to life, back to reality!!

 

And the heart keeps ticking!!

A week on from the operation and all is going well, both physically and mentally. More details to follow, but for now I feel more positive and confident that I'm well and truly on that road to recovery. Even went out for a bike ride around Richmond Park this morning, and the heart kept ticking......I think!!

Life is what hits you... part II

 

You could say quite a lot has been going on over the past few months. You could say life is what hits you when you’re busy making plans. I started to put together this post after my last routine consultation back in March, but have never quite got around to publishing. I thought what I might do then is provide chronology of what’s been going on, beginning February half term.

Feb 18th
We decided to take a short family break in Rome over the half term week. Lena and I had been 14 years ago and loved it, so we wanted to show Marcus some of the famous landmarks…educate the lad as it were. I suppose it's a sign of the times. Our apartment was close to Castel Sant’Angelo, and as we drove past it in the taxi, Marcus’ first comment was ‘cool, that’s the castle in Assassins Creed’. That became a bit of a theme throughout our subsequent sightseeing excursions. We all really enjoyed the break, the weather was kind, 18C and clear skies, and Marcus was genuinely interested in a number of the landmarks, as he'd been studying the renaissance at school, and this clearly brought some realism and experience to all the theory. Highlights of the trip; seeing Perry from Diversity in T5 on the way out, walking round the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Pantheon and Marcus getting a selfie with Pope Francis. Ok, I guess that's a slight distortion of the truth, a selfie with a picture of the Pope on the large screen at St Peter’s Square, Vatican during his weekly audience! Low point of the trip; not only seeing Arsenal loose to Bayern Munich in the Champions League in a Irish bar, but at the same time being accused of being a ‘cold individual’ by a drunk American girl because I refused to talk to her….because I was trying to watch Arsenal being taken apart!! Where's the justice in that!!

Marcus Maximus - Gladiator

 

March 26th
I had my regular consultation with my haematologist this morning. My paraprotein level remains stable at nine, which is the most important indicator. My HB remains low, but in general I've been feeling ok in myself, just a noticeable level of tiredness and fatigue on occasions. Neutrophils within the normal range at 2.5, platelets 166.

I mentioned that I'd been having a few spells of dizziness, nothing too alarming, quite random and something I felt I'd had been around for a fair number of years. The spells only last for a split second, but I felt they’d become more frequent and had a concern that my treatment might be linked to this change in some way. My consultant arranged for me to see a neurologist for a brain scan and further diagnostic tests.

April 1st
We'd booked a couple of rounds of golf at Celtic Manor for my parents Christmas present. I've said that I want to experience playing a few more famous golf courses, so Lena and I joined them for the trip. Hotel room was great, with our balconies overlooking the golf course. Golf was a mixture, but overall great fun and an experience to play the 2010 Ryder Cup course.

I have also taken the decision to drop back to part time working for six months. As I mentioned previously, I have been feeling a little jaded at times, and suddenly, by returning to work full time I had the feeling that most of my energy was being spent at work, and life was starting to ‘pass me by’ again. I felt that moving to four days a week would hand me some time to think, but more importantly, free up weekends so I could enjoy more family recreational time rather than trying to catch up on all the other stuff I either didn't have the time or energy to complete during the week. I say that, I've also just rejoined Hampton Court GC, so in reality, less time with the family, more time on the golf course!!.... To be fair though, it's also great to be able to spend a few hours outdoors playing with Marcus, who's also rejoined.

April 11th
My birthday and the holidays just keep on coming. This time five days skiing in Trysil, Norway, with my brother and family. Being April and being fooled by the temperatures in the UK at the time, I was thinking, spring skiing, beers out on the sun terrace, skiing in my string vest and shorts…ok, forget the last one. It was just as well I chose to take my summer canvas shoes, as they came in very handy when we  arrived in the middle of a blizzard. Must say, they didn't perform that well when I was trying to dig our way into the chalet. Still, at least I’d been slightly sensible and taken Marcus’ winter gear, so he at least was prepared for the conditions….and what fantastic skiing conditions it turned out to be. Plenty of good snow and not too warm. Marcus’ skiing came on really well, and under the expert guidance of myself and brother (well, my brother really, he's the qualified ski instructor), we had him carving some parallel turns by the end of the week. Much love to my brother and family for a memorable week!

 

Just a little bit of snow.....

 

This is where my summer shoes came in handy!

 

 

 

April 24th
So, back to these dizzy spells. Following my initial consultation with the neurologist, I had an MRI brain scan, EEG, an Audio Vestibular (AV) assessment and 24 hr ECG. The AV assessment was an interesting one. The instructions said to avoid alcohol the night before the test and I can now fully understand why. One of the tests was a Bithermal Caloric test. It's been around for a while and involves irrigation of warm and cool water (+/- 7C from body temp) into each ear for 30 secs. This temp change causes fluid movement inside your inner ear canal (your balance mechanism), which in turn can lead some people to experience the same ‘my whole world is spinning and I feel sick’ feeling they would an hour after downing 15 pints of Stella. I unfortunately was one of those people, so not something I intend to try again in my lifetime. Anyway, the long and short of it was, MRI scan was fine, no signs of any potential tumour, the EEG showed no signs of epilepsy, and the AV assessment showed only a minor insignificant imbalance between my left and right side. Unfortunately the ECG wasn't so positive.

May 22nd
After a further 48hr ECG confirmed the previous results, the consultants words ‘Patrick, you have a life threatening condition, we need to fit a pacemaker immediately’ were not really what I wanted to hear. Even though I was aware from the previous ECG that this might well be the case, it didn't really register. So, to be told my condition was life threatening came as a real shock. The 48 hr ECG confirmed I had heart block, a condition whereby the heart misses beats due to an ‘electrical’ failure. Effectively my heart was stopping for just over two seconds at least once an hour, and actually missing four beats (about 4.5 seconds) on a number of occasions. I guess the consultant was worried that, at anytime, the heart could decide not to start again. The funny thing was, having kept a log during my ECG, none of my infrequent dizzy spells seemed to line up with my episodes of heart block. Anyway, the operation to fit the pacemaker was scheduled for the following day.

May 23rd
Good to know I've got the love and support of my family today..….just been sent a link to the Olly Murs song ‘My Heart Skips a Beat’!!

Anyway, here I am, cannula at the ready, disposable pants on (there's a first time for everything), lying in yet another hospital bed waiting for my pacemaker to be fitted. I'm still in shock, this has all been so fast. The month of May has not been kind to me over the last years, my sister-in-law’s funeral in 2011, diagnosed with myeloma in 2012, back in hospital with shingles in 2013, and now, 2014 diagnosed with heart block! We're not yet sure whether it's as a result of my myeloma, the high dose chemotherapy I've received, or that I've just been very unlucky for a second time. The fact that my myeloma was diagnosed early and this heart condition has been discovered before anything serious happened is, in a weird kind of way, good news! Trouble is,  I just don't see it that way right now. I'm pissed off. Why has it always got to be me? I've had my fair share of shit over the last few years….it's someone else's turn!! I spent most of yesterday on an emotional roller coaster. Yes, great that it's been discovered, but you know what, it's just not bloody fair!! I'm told, once the pacemaker’s fitted, everything will be fine. Well, you know what, it won't, I've got myeloma to deal with as well. Things will never be right and this is just a bloody distraction. I'm scared and pretty fed up with things at the moment. It's taken me back to when I was first diagnosed with myeloma. Too many unknowns, too many tears. I know given time I'll come to terms with this…..but right now I'm just thinking, what the hell am I doing in this hospital bed….again. This isn't the way it's meant to be.

In the words of John Legend (All of Me)….’I’m so dizzy,  don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright. My head’s underwater but I'm breathing fine…..’

Happy Birthday Stem Cells

That was then...
 (£10 prize if you can spot the stem cells)



and this is now...

Funny, that first picture made me cry tonight. Don't know why.....reality check, memories, thankful for being where I am now....who knows.

Champagne and tears.......a winning combination!!