Update

Sorry that it has taken me so long to update everyone on my progress - to begin with everything was going swimmingly, meaning that my life was pretty boring and there was not much to write about. Then I got ill again, which made my life more interesting, but I just couldn't be bothered to write about it. Anyway, I am back now ranting on about things, which I am sure you have missed!

In my last blog I explained that I did not have leukemia anymore, but there was still some of my own bone marrow present, meaning that there was still a chance that the leukemia could develop again. The plan was to reduce my immunosuppressants and steroids down to zero so that the new bone marrow from my donor could properly kick in and get rid of all my old bone marrow. This was all going well - I was slowly reducing my drugs every week, and it seemed to be doing the trick as my blood result showed that the donors bone marrow was slowly becoming more dominant.

However, as my drugs were being reduced there was always the possibility that my GVHD may return to bother me again - which unfortunately it did. I originally thought I had picked up a bit of food poisoning as I was being a bit sick, but it did not seem to be going away. For a couple of weeks I was barely eating, and I was sleeping pretty much all of the time. Eventually I had enough of it and went to the hospital where they put me back on a low dose of steroids. Luckily this treatment seemed to help almost immediately, and I am now back to pretty much functioning as normal.

Since my health has improved Sam and I have spent a little time away at Loch Lomond. The Willow Foundation are a charity that work with those who have suffered or are suffering serious illnesses, to help to provide them with a special treat. Willow definitely gave us the ultimate two-days-holiday, booking us into a spa hotel on the edge of Loch Lomond. We had a fantastic time filled with lots of walking, eating, swimming and relaxing. It was a truly fantastic experience, and I am so grateful to Willow for organising it all. They are a fantastic charity and well worth your support.

Moving forward I am due to have a full assessment in Glasgow on Tuesday to discuss how my recovery is going, and how to move forward. It's crazy to think that it is almost a year now since I was diagnosed. There have been a lot of ups and downs, but I am grateful to you all for helping me get through it. Hopefully Tuesday will be filled with good news and I can start to plan what I want to do with my life over the next few months.