Salad Days

Yesterday was the day of my fortnightly trip to the Marsden. The Waiting Room was packed with lots of people standing but by now I know most of them by sight. Bob and Julia were there and Bob, like me, was having his stitches out. Now at last I can have a bath or shower without a plastic bag over all the lines.

The removal of the line means that it takes about 5 minutes for them to draw the blood samples for testing instead of the 25 minutes previously where the line had to be flushed and the site of entry cleaned and dressed. I was lucky enough to be seen quickly and the consultant, Dr Mike Potter, seemed to be pleased with my progress. I did tell him I had been ill during the week but was fully recovered and he thought I had had a bug as, of course, I am more susceptible to anything going around.

He said again that he does not want to prescribe steroids for the GVHD as at the moment this is boding well for my long term future. He did raise the possibility of another PET scan in a couple of months as I guess they want to make sure that the activity in the throat was an infection and not the return of lymphoma. There is always a shadow hovering somewhere.

The doctor also asked if I had any holiday plans as I should consider getting away while the weather was good. He said anywhere in England was all right and also France. I jumped at this right away. He explained that Northern France was ideal as it was possible to get back to the UK quickly if anything flared up but also that the Franch health system was very good and everything should be covered by the E111. This was all very encouraging as I have already mentioned to Raymond that I would love to get away and I know he’d like me to go to France with him.

I had some more good news too. I can now eat raw fruit and vegetables provided everything is washed well, peeled where appropriate and all pieces are completely fresh and not too ripe. This is wonderful news and I am celebrating tonight with a salad. As I still suffer from a dry mouth at last I can eat the food that is moist and also good for us both.