Convalescing

OK everyone, time for an update for those of you kind and tenacious enough to keep following our journey.  We’re now close to 90 days post transplant and nearing the 100 day marker when any acute conditions effectively become chronic.  Wonderfully, there have been little continued signs of GvHD or other side effects as Fabian continues his long convalesence to recovery.  He is still on cyclosporin, an immune-suppresant to keep any last vestiges of his own immune system from fighting back though this will gradually be phased out.  Trips to the Marsden are frequent and typically take out 2 full days each week although it’s always a relief to drive away from daycare after his blood counts have been checked and cleared.  We had one worrying occasion when Fabian’s legs swelled up inexplicably – a s0-called oedema – but after an overnight stay he was sent home with the doctors still scratching their heads wondering what caused this.  An expected side-effect of the TBI conditioning has been somnolence (thankfully not flatulence!).  This causes sudden onsets of tiredness without warning (I think we parents have been suffering this since first having children).

There are certain practical restrictions on what we can do together with Fabian and this certainly precludes any foreign travel or attending large public events.  Keeping the house clean and hygienic with teenagers around is perhaps the biggest challenge and I must confess to recently finding evidence of mice in residence so erm, I hope none of his care team are reading this.  Cassia and I completed our first walk for charity yesterday, joining Ian Botham and a host of celebrities raising money for leukaemia and lymphoma research.  Sadly, an old college friend mine recently learnt he has lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma so having these personal connections made taking part even more rewarding (online donations still possible via www.justgiving.com/darrellbate).