I received a heart breaking email last night from a Mother whose son aged 30 has been diagnosed with myeloma. It's a shocking diagnosis to receive at any age but especially aged 30. I was very upset reading the email, imagining what he will have to go through and hoping that he has the physical and mental strength to get through it and to believe that he can win. I was very moved and upset to by the Mother's pain and anguish and I imagined how I would feel if I had to deal with a diagnosis like this in one of my children.
When I was diagnosed with myeloma I was so grateful that it was me who had received the diagnosis and not one of my children!
Recently I had been wondering if I should just move on and leave the myeloma work to others. Other people I know who were involved in myeloma support groups have moved on as they feel they don't need the group anymore. I was wondering should I move off myself and let others deal with the phone calls and emails that I get on a daily and weekly basis.
When I received the email last night, it was a like a sign to me to stick with it - others need to hear from me and about me. They need to know that it is possible to fight myeloma and come out the other side. This mother needs to hear me and see me so that she can have hope that her handsome son can beat it!
The email last night also reminded me of the day I was diagnosed and how much I would have liked to have spoken to someone: someone who had been through it, someone who could show me that it can be done, someone to show me there is life after cancer - someone like me!
So I will stick with it. I will keep taking the calls and receiving the emails and thanks to the Irish Cancer Society, I will now [hopefully] receive proper training so as I have professional standards as well as personal experience to draw on.
So to anyone
- feeling down this morning
- feeling angry about traffic or something else
- feeling annoyed with someone
- moaning about first world problems
STOP!
Take five minutes, five seconds even to thank God for your health and the health and the love of your family.
Brenda xx
Ends
31 January 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
A Living Word
A Living Word is the daily thought for the day reflection on the early morning show on RTE Radio 1 with Shay Byrne. The slot is edited and produced by Aidan Matthews in RTE. This week the reflections are based on themes celebrating Catholic Schools Week which is taking place from the 29 Jan - 4 Feb 2012.
There are five different people involved in this weeks A Living Word and I was given Monday morning to prepare a piece for. The brief is a piece of 250 words and a length of no more than two minutes, so it was tricky to fit in all I wanted to say.
Anyway this is the piece I wrote and recorded which was broadcast yesterday morning. Hope you enjoy it.
Brenda Drumm | A Living Word
Ends
31 January 2012
There are five different people involved in this weeks A Living Word and I was given Monday morning to prepare a piece for. The brief is a piece of 250 words and a length of no more than two minutes, so it was tricky to fit in all I wanted to say.
Anyway this is the piece I wrote and recorded which was broadcast yesterday morning. Hope you enjoy it.
Brenda Drumm | A Living Word
Ends
31 January 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
PRAYER FOR SUFFERING STUDENTS
As the mock Junior and Leaving cert examinations are currently happening for some and approaching for others I thought I would share this little prayer I found:
PRAYER FOR SUFFERING STUDENTS
Now that I lay me down to study,
I pray the Lord I won't go nutty.
If I should fail to learn this junk,
I pray the Lord I will not flunk.
But if I do, don't pity me at all;
Just lay my bones down in the study hall.
Tell my teachers I did my best.
Then pile the books upon my chest.
Now I lay me down to rest,
And pray I'll pass tomorrow's test.
If I should die before I wake,
That's one less test I'll have to take.
AMEN!
I found this in a book called Liturgies for Post-Primary Schools published by Veritas and put together by Brendan Quinlivan.
PRAYER FOR SUFFERING STUDENTS
Now that I lay me down to study,
I pray the Lord I won't go nutty.
If I should fail to learn this junk,
I pray the Lord I will not flunk.
But if I do, don't pity me at all;
Just lay my bones down in the study hall.
Tell my teachers I did my best.
Then pile the books upon my chest.
Now I lay me down to rest,
And pray I'll pass tomorrow's test.
If I should die before I wake,
That's one less test I'll have to take.
AMEN!
I found this in a book called Liturgies for Post-Primary Schools published by Veritas and put together by Brendan Quinlivan.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
A Very Happy New Year of Ordinary Miracles
I meant to write this yesterday but I just could not sit down and focus enough to do it.
Yesterday, Jan 2nd, marked five years since I was admitted to hospital with kidney failure. At the time I was blissfully ignorant that I had a life threatening cancer called Multiple Myeloma, but it wasn't long before I was told on 10.1.2007 - that was the day my life changed forever.
Marking five years is amazing on the one hand, but going over the five year threshold also scares me to death because while I wanted to reach the five year milestone and keep going, I am also aware that the further I move away from my original diagnosis, the closer I may be moving towards a return of my Myeloma.
Sorry here's the sciency bit: Multiple Myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells in the bone marrow. Only 2% of people under 40 are diagnosed with it so when I was diagnosed at 38 it was a shock statistically and in every other way imaginable.
There is currently no cure for Myeloma but the aim is to keep people like me alive as long as possible in the hope that someday a cure will be found. I was treated with thalidomide and with oral chemo, followed by the good stuff - the liquid chemo. I had my stem cells harvested and frozen. Then I was given high doses of liquid chemo and then had something called a stem cell transplant.
Another sciency bit here: A stem cell transplant is where they harvest the stem cells from your own bone marrow and donate them back to you to rescue you from the effects of the chemo. The hope is that the stem cells will grow into healthy cells - white cells, red cells etc and repopulate your bone marrow and make you healthy again. [Loads more sciency stuff on www.mymyeloma.ie]
I have been in remission since September 2007 and I am so lucky to have been given all this time here with my husband and children. There were times during my transplant when I was so ill, I thought I would not get through another day.
The last five years have been the most amazing ones because I have cherished the time and relished the time in a way that I didn't before. Don't get me wrong, it hasn't been all sunshine and roses, there have been setbacks. I was very lucky to survive a blood clot in my lung on the first day of my Summer holidays in August 2009, but I have improved since then and in November 2010 I was taken off all treatment. I am injection free, infusion free, tablet free for the first time in 4 years and it has been incredible.
When I was first diagnosed I made a deal with God - I asked him to keep me here so as I could see my little boy start school - Cathal was 2 when I was diagnosed and my daughter Emma was 9. I asked God to let me see her making her Confirmation, starting secondary school, maybe meeting her first love. As the years passed by I started to revise my deals [luckily I put none of them in writing and God this blog doesn't count].
It's thinking about this that sometimes can be very overwhelming.
But I am a very positive person and I do believe in miracles - it's a miracle that I am here. That is why I want to spend my time doing things that make me smile, making memories with my kids, doing miraculous things and making each day count.
The list of things I have done over the past five years sometimes makes me dizzy but it has been wonderous and I am not sure if I would have done a lot of these BC [Before Cancer]
Sang on stage with Brian Kennedy
Welcomed the Mooney Show into the house for a concert
Climbed Croagh Patrick
Became a Scout Leader and camped for 9 days and nights at a Jamboree
Started my own radio show in my spare time
Spoke on live tv and radio about my illness despite the fact that I had to sit on my hands because I was shaking so much
Published an audio anthology of writing
Kayaked 10km up a river in Germany as part of a scout trip
Camped in all sorts of places and hostelled
Started a young adult creative writing group
Started a dedicated website and awareness week for myeloma
Gone back to work...
Started to write again and this month I am sending out a submission about the book I have written about my cancer journey....
Most recently the #TwitterXmasSingle .........
The list keeps growing and I am making new memories every day. I am very lucky in a way to have been given a second chance, to have been given time out to reflect on the important things in life, to cherish the ordinary everyday miracles that are all around us in our lives, whether we realise it or not!
So as you start a new year remember that your health is the only wealth you will ever need........and do take time to notice and cherish your own everyday miracles....
"Health is a crown, worn by those who are well and seen only by those who are sick".
I hope to hang onto my crown of health for as long as I can.
Happy New Year
Brenda
xxxxx
Yesterday, Jan 2nd, marked five years since I was admitted to hospital with kidney failure. At the time I was blissfully ignorant that I had a life threatening cancer called Multiple Myeloma, but it wasn't long before I was told on 10.1.2007 - that was the day my life changed forever.
Marking five years is amazing on the one hand, but going over the five year threshold also scares me to death because while I wanted to reach the five year milestone and keep going, I am also aware that the further I move away from my original diagnosis, the closer I may be moving towards a return of my Myeloma.
Sorry here's the sciency bit: Multiple Myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells in the bone marrow. Only 2% of people under 40 are diagnosed with it so when I was diagnosed at 38 it was a shock statistically and in every other way imaginable.
There is currently no cure for Myeloma but the aim is to keep people like me alive as long as possible in the hope that someday a cure will be found. I was treated with thalidomide and with oral chemo, followed by the good stuff - the liquid chemo. I had my stem cells harvested and frozen. Then I was given high doses of liquid chemo and then had something called a stem cell transplant.
Another sciency bit here: A stem cell transplant is where they harvest the stem cells from your own bone marrow and donate them back to you to rescue you from the effects of the chemo. The hope is that the stem cells will grow into healthy cells - white cells, red cells etc and repopulate your bone marrow and make you healthy again. [Loads more sciency stuff on www.mymyeloma.ie]
I have been in remission since September 2007 and I am so lucky to have been given all this time here with my husband and children. There were times during my transplant when I was so ill, I thought I would not get through another day.
The last five years have been the most amazing ones because I have cherished the time and relished the time in a way that I didn't before. Don't get me wrong, it hasn't been all sunshine and roses, there have been setbacks. I was very lucky to survive a blood clot in my lung on the first day of my Summer holidays in August 2009, but I have improved since then and in November 2010 I was taken off all treatment. I am injection free, infusion free, tablet free for the first time in 4 years and it has been incredible.
When I was first diagnosed I made a deal with God - I asked him to keep me here so as I could see my little boy start school - Cathal was 2 when I was diagnosed and my daughter Emma was 9. I asked God to let me see her making her Confirmation, starting secondary school, maybe meeting her first love. As the years passed by I started to revise my deals [luckily I put none of them in writing and God this blog doesn't count].
- Why shouldn't I be here for exams and boyfriends and girlfriends and for graduation from secondary school?
- Why shouldn't I be here to see Emma walk down the aisle?
- Why shouldn't I get to be a grandmother.
- Why shouldn't my kids have their Mum as they grow up?
It's thinking about this that sometimes can be very overwhelming.
But I am a very positive person and I do believe in miracles - it's a miracle that I am here. That is why I want to spend my time doing things that make me smile, making memories with my kids, doing miraculous things and making each day count.
The list of things I have done over the past five years sometimes makes me dizzy but it has been wonderous and I am not sure if I would have done a lot of these BC [Before Cancer]
Sang on stage with Brian Kennedy
Welcomed the Mooney Show into the house for a concert
Climbed Croagh Patrick
Became a Scout Leader and camped for 9 days and nights at a Jamboree
Started my own radio show in my spare time
Spoke on live tv and radio about my illness despite the fact that I had to sit on my hands because I was shaking so much
Published an audio anthology of writing
Kayaked 10km up a river in Germany as part of a scout trip
Camped in all sorts of places and hostelled
Started a young adult creative writing group
Started a dedicated website and awareness week for myeloma
Gone back to work...
Started to write again and this month I am sending out a submission about the book I have written about my cancer journey....
Most recently the #TwitterXmasSingle .........
The list keeps growing and I am making new memories every day. I am very lucky in a way to have been given a second chance, to have been given time out to reflect on the important things in life, to cherish the ordinary everyday miracles that are all around us in our lives, whether we realise it or not!
So as you start a new year remember that your health is the only wealth you will ever need........and do take time to notice and cherish your own everyday miracles....
"Health is a crown, worn by those who are well and seen only by those who are sick".
I hope to hang onto my crown of health for as long as I can.
Happy New Year
Brenda
xxxxx
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Flash fiction by Emma - aged 14
I could feel the tears well up in my eyes and I just wanted to rip them out and crush them between thumb and forefinger, like an annoying bug. They were my weakness. Without sight I wouldn't have seen my baby die and watched my husband jump.
Copyright - Emma Tobin 2011
Copyright - Emma Tobin 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
#TwitterXmasSingle
Last night [19 November 2011] I had an idea to record a christmas charity single through Twitter - using contacts, singers etc from our Twitter streams. The idea has taken legs and at 11.15am on Sunday morning we have a stylist, a studio, a videographer, a PR person, some TV presenters and personalities and a very willing and wonderful group of people or tweeps from Twitter to do the singing and organising. The list is growing all the time but so far this is who we have:
There were so many amazing charities mentioned and they are all very deserving causes. Cancer is one that is very close to my heart because I have been living with it since 2007 - just about to hit the five year's diagnosed mark on 10 Jan 2012. We also had mental health and homelessness mentioned and women's refuge and so many other fantastic charities.
As of this afternoon Sunday 20 November, the majority of votes coming in have been for the charity single to benefit premature babies here in Ireland. Christmas is all about children and our single and the cause would see to be a match made in heaven. We will have exact details shortly about the charity so keep in touch.
This time yesterday I had not even thought of the idea and now this afternoon we have a group of 61 people who are involved and this is growing all the time, we have a song [details shortly], we have someone whi has arranged the song and we have set Sunday next 27 November as the date to record.
There is lots that we need help with. We need iTunes to get on board and make sure all the money goes to the charity, we need a few professional singers, we need studio space and a photographer and just lots lots more. Anyone interested?
Then join the conversation on Twitter at #twitterxmassingle
We have announced the charity which is to benefit and it is an amazing cause the Neo Natal Unit at the National Maternity Hospital in Holles Street Hospital. The unit is best known as "Unit 8" by parents whose babies have needed special care there.
What better time of year to focus on children.......it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas and like the #twitterxmassingle which is so appropriate when you listen to the lyrics......
It's all happening on Twitter so come and get us trending and join in.
UPDATE: Monday 21 November - We are recording at 1pm on Sunday next 27 November. We are finalising the venue at the moment. Anyone who wants to support us, sing, make tea, take names, promote it, video it, interview us, make a music video - please follow the hashtag #twitterxmassingle on Twitter or leave your email here in a comment. Venue will be Dublin city but just finalising logistics and will announce soon.
UPDATE Wednesday 23 November: We have the venue since yesterday. The 5 star Westin Hotel on Westmoreland Street, Dublin 2. The Banking Hall is the space we have been given. Thanks to the team there for being so accommodating and amazing.
More news coming tweet by tweet. Keep in touch #twitterxmassingle
Brenda
XXXXX
- @brendadrumm
- @juneshannon
- @carnsoreboxer
- @am_flynn
- @jennyfoxe
- @derekf03
- @funkygoddessirl
- @irlguide
- @maryroche
- @avineoconnor
- @legaleaglestar
- @niamhybe
- @clearer_skies
- @Lou_McCartney [whom I hope can sing like Paul McCartney]
- @TrichDee
- @MacAnBhaird
- @Enda_Lee
- @cathalkeogh
- @reclaimthevoice
- @NABCIrl
- @SpNeedsParents
- @JFTAXI
- @olda3
- @MissBLT
- @bsweetmanmorris
- @thebedsite
- @CKennedyPr
- @embergreen
- @jewelw
- @jojowalsh [A tenor]
- @sineaddesmond [TV3]
- @berminghamlaura [stylist, TV presenter and just wow]
- @markrock [@Audioboo]
- @juniperjools
- @barbarascully
- @markpower1978
- @sineadk
- @andrewmmadden
- @jezzie7
- @bourgeoisieout
- @doalty
- Sheena Darcy
- Ian Callanan
- Anna Keegan
- Carmel Murphy
- Emma Tobin
- @hotcrossmum
- @sarasnelling
- @janetravers
- @firflopireland
- @foxeinsocks
- @crowleyniamh
- @tangentfairy
- @davidod
- @handforged
- @deebpress
- @Mariondublin
- @phil_garland
- @darrtanian
- @sineadkeogh
- JohnCoughlan
- @barbaraedwards1
- @ailishlynch
- @delilah_cat
- @debbie_odonnell [Xpose]
- @chrismallingart
- @marketmusic
- @johnivory
- @hollyfrodo
- @reclaimthevoice
- @RPDLTD
- @tina_browne
- @1LouiseKennedy [the fab designer]
- @soniaharrisPR
- @ciara1975
- @EleanorFitz
- @JenJenRiordan
- @heatherbetsy
- @grmoneill
- @clearerskies
- @mauradonohoe
- @sharonshambles
- David O'Connor [singer]
- @jilliangodsil
- @susancondon
- @cagssoc
- CelineGarvey [KFM Arts Show]
- @colettecaddle [Writer]
- @umnumnum_cork
- @dcbedwards
- @nessymon
- @maeve_10
- @curtainqueen
- @designdiva_
- @MDRN1
- @bingobaa
- @pdrgmrdt
- @liam_coburn
- @mduffywriter
- @DiamondsIRL [our 100th person to offer help]
- @greenclouds4
- @sheenadarcy
- @ocarrollconsult
- @tsjohnsmyth
- Moira Murphy [Brown Thomas]
- Aisling Larkin [Brown Thomas]
- Louis Walsh [yes the real one]
- @aideenblackwood
- @xcelbusiness
- @regs33
- @alisonwells
- @ciaramcduffman
- @karenmaleady
- @crosscare1
- @simonrprepublic
- @carolewhelan
- @maeveos
- @rLombardvance
- @MaudMonaghan
- @paddystarbucks
- @noelcuddy
- @tomhappens
- @mar1em
- @missyu
- @stormie869
- @stresskills
- @eileen27
- @carolinesimons
- @balcourier10
- @chahoward
- @LA_Make_Up
- @ZoeClarkeMakeUp
- @bngr
- @katymcguinness
- @ultrasoundbite
- @wicklowmusdrama
- @piperhawk
- @MyOMark
- @Caz_Collins
- The Westin Hotel {YAHOO WE ARE AT 140 characters - just like Twitter!]
- @curlybubble
- Pembroke Communications
- @jilliangodsil
We have loads more names to add and we will do it asap! The list keeps growing.
There were so many amazing charities mentioned and they are all very deserving causes. Cancer is one that is very close to my heart because I have been living with it since 2007 - just about to hit the five year's diagnosed mark on 10 Jan 2012. We also had mental health and homelessness mentioned and women's refuge and so many other fantastic charities.
As of this afternoon Sunday 20 November, the majority of votes coming in have been for the charity single to benefit premature babies here in Ireland. Christmas is all about children and our single and the cause would see to be a match made in heaven. We will have exact details shortly about the charity so keep in touch.
This time yesterday I had not even thought of the idea and now this afternoon we have a group of 61 people who are involved and this is growing all the time, we have a song [details shortly], we have someone whi has arranged the song and we have set Sunday next 27 November as the date to record.
There is lots that we need help with. We need iTunes to get on board and make sure all the money goes to the charity, we need a few professional singers, we need studio space and a photographer and just lots lots more. Anyone interested?
Then join the conversation on Twitter at #twitterxmassingle
We have announced the charity which is to benefit and it is an amazing cause the Neo Natal Unit at the National Maternity Hospital in Holles Street Hospital. The unit is best known as "Unit 8" by parents whose babies have needed special care there.
What better time of year to focus on children.......it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas and like the #twitterxmassingle which is so appropriate when you listen to the lyrics......
It's all happening on Twitter so come and get us trending and join in.
UPDATE: Monday 21 November - We are recording at 1pm on Sunday next 27 November. We are finalising the venue at the moment. Anyone who wants to support us, sing, make tea, take names, promote it, video it, interview us, make a music video - please follow the hashtag #twitterxmassingle on Twitter or leave your email here in a comment. Venue will be Dublin city but just finalising logistics and will announce soon.
UPDATE Wednesday 23 November: We have the venue since yesterday. The 5 star Westin Hotel on Westmoreland Street, Dublin 2. The Banking Hall is the space we have been given. Thanks to the team there for being so accommodating and amazing.
More news coming tweet by tweet. Keep in touch #twitterxmassingle
Brenda
XXXXX
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
30 July 2007 - snapshot from hospital
This is a letter I found in a notebook which I wrote on 30 July 2007 but never sent. It was addressed to my work colleagues in Maynooth:
Hi everyone,
Thanks so much for all your good wishes by text and phone and for all the letters. They mean a lot. I had a good giggle recently when I received a text from Noreen which said "Hang in there Brenda, it will be all uphill from here..." I assume that she meant downhill!
I am improving every day little by little, bit by bit. I am free of all drips and tubes. They are removing the central line from my neck/chest either today or tomorrow. Today they mentioned the H word (home) for the first time since I was admitted. The end of this part of the treatment is in sight. I will be four weeks in hospital on Wednesday of this week. It's a long time. I can't wait to get home to Bryan and the kids, as well as to familiar things. I can't wait to get outside - even if it is raining. I know I will be on a very short leash from the hospital for a while and that I will have to take it slowly but it is great to be this side of the treatment.
I am moving around a lot more and building up strength. It is amazing how many people in here are willing me to get better - the doctors, nurses, nursing assistants and the catering ladies. I can't ell you the number of the times that I have been stopped in the corridor by someone to say 'great to see you looking so well'. It really does my heart good. Some of the nurses who cared for me at my lowest ebb have come back after a week off and they can't believe the difference in me. I am starting to look like myself again.
I had some wonderful prayers said in my room a few days ago, by a nun who is a member of the chaplaincy team. There were some days when I was too sick and drowsy to know that people were around but the chaplaincy team were there for me, even if I didn't know it.
Bryan (hubby) has told me some of the silly things I did and said when I was a bit out of it from medication. He said he was leaving me one evening and I said to him: "You don't expect me to drive like this, do you?" Another friend of mine came to visit and I was in the middle of a sentence and I just dropped off to another world. There are other things I did but I am too embarrassed to share them now.
I thank God for giving me the strength to get to where I am now. I could not have done it alone. It was very hard for Bryan, my Mum and others to see me at my sickest. There was nothing they could do except hold my hand. Some days I couldn't talk at all and it must have taken all their strength and composure to sit with me without caving in.
Thankfully, all that is in the past for now. The days ahead are looking brighter at last. I still have a few challenges to get through. I have to start eating more and it is very difficult. My temperature needs to stabilise also, but hopefully that will happen once my central line goes. I have been told that it will be weeks, months before I fully recover from the chemo and transplant.
I know that once I am home I will do better. I will thrive in my own surroundings so as far as I am concerned the sooner the H word is a definite, the better I will do.
I am going to sign off now. I just wanted to tell you how much better I am doing.
Thanks again to everyone who wrote to me, texted me, called me and visited. I was delighted to see Marie a couple of Sundays ago - it was a lovely surprise.
I will be in touch soon and hopefully the next time I write it will be from Newbridge.
Talk soon.
Brenda
XXXXXX
[This letter was written during week four of the stem cell transplant process which I went through in July/August 2007. ]
Below is a picture of how I looked on 15 July - mid way through the process. So it puts the treatment in context. It was brutal]
Hi everyone,
Thanks so much for all your good wishes by text and phone and for all the letters. They mean a lot. I had a good giggle recently when I received a text from Noreen which said "Hang in there Brenda, it will be all uphill from here..." I assume that she meant downhill!
I am improving every day little by little, bit by bit. I am free of all drips and tubes. They are removing the central line from my neck/chest either today or tomorrow. Today they mentioned the H word (home) for the first time since I was admitted. The end of this part of the treatment is in sight. I will be four weeks in hospital on Wednesday of this week. It's a long time. I can't wait to get home to Bryan and the kids, as well as to familiar things. I can't wait to get outside - even if it is raining. I know I will be on a very short leash from the hospital for a while and that I will have to take it slowly but it is great to be this side of the treatment.
I am moving around a lot more and building up strength. It is amazing how many people in here are willing me to get better - the doctors, nurses, nursing assistants and the catering ladies. I can't ell you the number of the times that I have been stopped in the corridor by someone to say 'great to see you looking so well'. It really does my heart good. Some of the nurses who cared for me at my lowest ebb have come back after a week off and they can't believe the difference in me. I am starting to look like myself again.
I had some wonderful prayers said in my room a few days ago, by a nun who is a member of the chaplaincy team. There were some days when I was too sick and drowsy to know that people were around but the chaplaincy team were there for me, even if I didn't know it.
Bryan (hubby) has told me some of the silly things I did and said when I was a bit out of it from medication. He said he was leaving me one evening and I said to him: "You don't expect me to drive like this, do you?" Another friend of mine came to visit and I was in the middle of a sentence and I just dropped off to another world. There are other things I did but I am too embarrassed to share them now.
I thank God for giving me the strength to get to where I am now. I could not have done it alone. It was very hard for Bryan, my Mum and others to see me at my sickest. There was nothing they could do except hold my hand. Some days I couldn't talk at all and it must have taken all their strength and composure to sit with me without caving in.
Thankfully, all that is in the past for now. The days ahead are looking brighter at last. I still have a few challenges to get through. I have to start eating more and it is very difficult. My temperature needs to stabilise also, but hopefully that will happen once my central line goes. I have been told that it will be weeks, months before I fully recover from the chemo and transplant.
I know that once I am home I will do better. I will thrive in my own surroundings so as far as I am concerned the sooner the H word is a definite, the better I will do.
I am going to sign off now. I just wanted to tell you how much better I am doing.
Thanks again to everyone who wrote to me, texted me, called me and visited. I was delighted to see Marie a couple of Sundays ago - it was a lovely surprise.
I will be in touch soon and hopefully the next time I write it will be from Newbridge.
Talk soon.
Brenda
XXXXXX
[This letter was written during week four of the stem cell transplant process which I went through in July/August 2007. ]
Below is a picture of how I looked on 15 July - mid way through the process. So it puts the treatment in context. It was brutal]
 |
| This is me halfway through the transplant |
 |
| My first day home from hospital after transplant |
 |
| Two months after the transplant |
 |
| NOW |
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