Day 6

Apologies for the delay in the most recent post. There will be times that I cannot write as I don't always feel up to it, but I promise to keep people as up to date as I am able. The last couple of days have been a whirlwind of headaches, tiredness and nausea - but I'll skip out that boring stuff and move on to the more adventurous parts.

On Thursday morning I was taken down to the nuclear part of the hospital to receive a heart scan, which meant I was given a radioactive injection, followed by a lie down in a scanner for about 10 minutes. Receiving the injection wasn't as easy as I would have liked as it made me feel a bit faint and I had to lie down for a while. To make me feel better I was simply prescribed a bottle of Lucozade, which did actually help - So, you were right Peter Hood, Lucozade does make everything alright.

After the heart scan I was radioactive for the rest of the day, so any pregnant nurses had to avoid me, but this wasn't too much of an issue. The more annoying thing was that having the heart scan meant that I missed lunch! And not just any lunch either - stovies and oatcakes! Believe me, there is not much to look forward to when you are in hospital, but stovies and oatcakes has to be one of the better things, and I missed them! Tomato soup (again you were right Peter) and bread to serve as a replacement, but I don't think I will ever quite recover from missing my stovies...

Results from my heart scan were all fine, but I do have a little news in terms of my Leukemia treatment. My bone marrow samples are currently being analysed in Glasgow so that we can determine genetic markers on the Leukemia cells. It seems that my genetic markers are a little unusual as they have found what is called a "Philadelphia chromosome" (Like the city, or as I like to think, like the cream cheese). Basically, the Philadelphia chromosome is like two chromosomes have broken and formed into something new. This isn't a bad thing, it just simply means that my treatment will now change fairly dramatically.

Above is a photograph of my original treatment plan (supported by some beautiful handmade cards by Julia and Ibby). It's not very clear on the photograph, but originally my treatment was to be part of a clinical trial made up of chemotherapy and steroids over a period of months. The clinical trail now basically has to be thrown out of the window as I will be on tablets specifically designed to target the Philadelphia chromosome, and I will be undergoing a bone marrow transplant.

Originally we were hopeful that a bone marrow transplant would not be necessary as part of the treatment, but this is now definitely going to happen. For me that means that I will be transferred to Glasgow for a period of time in the future where I will undergo intense chemotherapy and effectively "replace" my immune system with someone else's. However, at this point its obviously not just about me any more. There is a worldwide search for bone marrow donors at the moment to help people like me every day. Being a donor is actually really easy and involves minimal effort, so if you fit the criteria, I would love if you could sign yourselves up and share this message on to someone else today. Being a donor can save the life of someone like me, and even though you might not match my gene type, you might match someone else's. If you were able to sign up as a donor, or pass the message on to someone who can, I will always be in your debt.

For a little bit more information just check out the Anthony Nolan website, or if you are a little older (over 30), look at the British Bone Marrow Registry. I want to thank everyone so much for reading this, sending messages, cards, gifts etc. Everyone has been so supportive and given so much already, but if you could do this for me it would be the icing on top of the cake. Thank you so much again and I love you all.

Laura xo