Overview and background of my reasons for going to Singapore to receive HSCT for my M.S. in 2017. Well. I'm feeling really awkward; it's not comfortable for me to write about myself so publicly. However, I wanted to write this blog so I can update people about what's going on with the treatment - both in the planning stages, and while I'm over there. So here goes: Basically out-of-the-blue in February, I decided to look into stem cell treatment (Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation ( HSCT )) for my multiple sclerosis. I'd heard about this a couple of years ago, but didn't seriously consider it - it seemed prohibitively expensive and just generally not 'proven' enough for me. HSCT involves (at a basic level) suppressing the immune system with chemotherapy, and transplanting the patient's own stem cells (extracted before the chemo) to assist with the immune system's re-boot. The idea, as a treatment for MS (and other auto-immune conditi...
WARNING: this post contains some really really gross pictures. Suffice to say, things have gone very well, so those with weak stomachs should stop reading now. 💜 Okay, so the weekend with the tap wasn't the best. I spoke too soon about no side effects from the injections, and it was so hard to sleep with bone pain and not being able to move my neck with the tap. I was generally so grumpy about why they put it in a clear two days before using it. It felt to me like I was being put through extra pain and discomfort. (I asked Yati why they do this, and it's something about the availability of the doctor who puts it in, and the real possibility of delays if they'd tried to insert it on the day.) So after a rough weekend, I was very ready to get the stem cell process going yesterday (Monday). We arrived at the hospital early in the morning so blood could be taken to see if the stem cells were present (as they should be, after all those injections). All was good, so we sta...
This is a photo from 15 years ago, taken the last time I was about to leave Singapore. Nowadays, I don't know if I'm quite up to dancing my way through the airport, but I assure you, I'm mentally doing the same thing! (Photo: circa 2002, when members of Bel Canto (award-winning senior girls' choir at Burnside High School) were on their way back from a festival in Vienna (look at those shoes Pens! Do you remember?? Converse for life!).) Blood results from Monday: White blood cell: 4.59 (normal now) Platelets: 198 (were normal last week; normal still) CMV: still negative (long may that last!) Blood results are pretty boring now; there are some results that are not normal, of course - polymorphs, monocytes, red blood cell (only just, give me a break! 3.6, when 3.9 is normal), haemoglobin (also only just, 11.0, 11.5 considered normal), haematocrit (PCV) (what?), RDW (red cell distribution width, oh of course!), and the presence of atypical mononuclear cells (which ...
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