On Wednesday of this week my leukaemia battling mate G had another dose of Chemo-Therapy.
The process it’s self is pretty simple, he sits down and over the course of the next six to eight hours the medical staff intravenously fill his body with a cocktail of poisonous chemicals. G tells me that as it’s going on he can gradually feel things happening, like his sense of taste changes and everything begins to smack of metal.
Later he is tired, very, very, tired.
It’s the sort of tiredness that can’t be cured by sleeping, he just wakes up as tired as before he went to sleep.
Then over the next few days and weeks he begins to feel a bit better. The senses return to near normal and the fatigue eases.
His biggest problem is that during this period he is extremely susceptible to infection. The Chemo process wipes out most of the white blood cells that are vital for the immune system to protect the body from viral invasion. He becomes neutropenic. People with neutropenia are so susceptible to bacterial infections that often without prompt medical attention any infection can quickly become life-threatening.
That’s how G ended up in Hospital with pneumonia just before Christmas.
After the Chemo session on Wednesday G didn’t feel to bad at all and on Thursday called me and suggested that I pop over to his place on Friday. He wasn’t up to riding a motorbike but he did offer to cook brunch.
At this point I need to draw attention to my mate’s culinary skills. A former Chef at The Grosvenor in London, he certainly can produce great things in the kitchen and if he offers to cook I don’t refuse!
So the plan was for me to ride the 50 miles to his place and just spend the day chilling and enjoying a nice meal.
Then I woke up on Friday morning. Sore throat, blocked sinuses and ears. I have a head cold, bummer!
I quick chat with G and we quickly decided that I should stay away and we’d reschedule for another day, no point at putting him at risk. Of course, this did mean that I would have to forgo G’s brunch.
Later, as I was having a cup of tea and a cold chicken sandwich, I received an email from G, with a picture of the totally over the top, self-indulgent, brunch he had prepared for himself! Which I share with you here.
The Devon Fry!
Now that’s not a nice thing to do to your caring Mate, is it?
I guess a little of what you fancy does you good and it looks like G’s taste buds must be returning to some kind of normality!!
“Mellow is the man who knows what he’s been missing.”
Catch you all soon.
Dookes
Hogrider Dookes 
The one thing that you find out when you have a serious illness is who your true friends are…. Everyone thinks they have lots of friends but the true friend stick with you through thick and thin…
Dookes has been a bit of a rock for me through my illness which pscycologically has been extremely tough… I’m a positive person but you can’t be positive all the time!
When I was in hospital just before Christmas I hit the brick wall, they wanted to stop the chemo therapy because of the number of infections I was getting and it was getting towards the decision that the risk of the chemo out weighed the risk of the cancer…
Being such a positive person this was a very tough conversation with the consultants… It hinged on my recovery from the pneumonia, my psychological state and how all the tests went as it was a bit touch and go over the first few nights that I was in whether to move me to intensive care… Scary stuff..
They filled me full of potent stuff and I felt better…. The problem was that after all the chemo and the infections, even though I was not neutropenic my little neutrapines had forgotten how to fight infection… Its like being a new born baby, you have some immunity but as you grow you have to learn how to fight infections by getting infections and also have jabs along the way… The problem is that I had no immunity and being on chemo I wasn’t going to learn how to fight infection … The only thing stopping me getting infections were the antibiotics I was having whilst in hospital..
Anyway they let me out the day before Christmas Eve under strict conditions and house arrest.. No visitors and I wasn’t to go near anyone with a whiff of a cold!!
Over the holiday I improved and after more blood tests and a meeting with the consultant they decided to continue with the chemo (Phase 5!!)
So there we are… We’re ticking along… Looking forward to better weather and lots of bike riding..
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Hey mate, don’t forget that it doesn’t matter if the glass is half full or half empty. . . there’s a bar in the corner of the room! 🙂
Support? No worries, you’re my mate!
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Thanks for those lines, Greg. Dookes has been keeping us informed but it makes a big difference to hear from you directly. Yep, chemo’s nasty, not to mention the whole hospital world. But cooking and eating a full English like that can only be restorative! The picture has my mouth watering… Keep at it – I look forward to hearing about your triumphs and the Triumph.
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“Now that’s not a nice thing to do to your caring Mate, is it?”
Ha-haa! Well played, G: Well played with that Devon Fry photo.
Dookes, take solace in knowing that it’s only the best of friends that will be so cruel.
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Yeah, he can be quite a little sod sometimes!
When he’s well again, I will get my own back.
. . . and he can cook me brunch!
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It’s good to have friends 😉
(Keep fighting G)
Oh and post me some sausages, bacon and tattie scones please 😀
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Oh Alba, why is it always about food! 🙂
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Because I can’t get any of what you post about :-p
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Yeah it is good to have friends, wherever they are. 😉
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