In memory of Adam Horn who at 22 lost his battle with Leukaemia but showed us all a thing or two about how to live life to the full.. Now forever young....
Tuesday 13 March 2007
UCH holiday camp beckons
We visited with the Prof again today, Adams blood counts have taken a nose dive which is a sign that the chemo is working, the effect is that he has become Neutropaenic and at infection risk again.
He has been experiencing some serious anxiety issues as a result of coming off some of the painkillers that he's been on for a long time and also because... yep, you've guessed it! He has a lot to be anxious about!
He asked if he could be brought into hospital for a short break while he tries to sort his head out, the prof felt this was a good idea as he is likely to need platelets anyday as his counts continue to fall.
So we are back in UCH on T13 room 2 where the nurses are making an appropriate fuss over him, he can get some professional help here and with luck it'll be a boost for him.
love to all
Colin
Wednesday 7 March 2007
Adam update - it's the way you tell em
On Monday Adam went to the gym at our local hospital and he spent some time there being fussed over by the girlies who did some interesting things with his leg/s and who after some request by him, fitted a temporary artificial leg to his left leg and he stood up aided by a stool to support his right leg, it was amazing to stand eye to eye with him, I’d forgotten how tall he is!
He was really buoyed up by being able to stand; it’s been a huge issue for him so it was a real boost.
On Tuesday we had our meeting with the professor at UCH to see whether the news we had been given the previous week had any other alternatives, I was terrified of going in as was Pauline, I went to work beforehand and when I got home to get them I expected him to be like the kid who has to go and see the headmaster! He was dressed, ready for action and told me he felt great and full of energy.
Whether this was a direct result of realising that he could actually stand again with some help or whether he just kicked himself out of the depression for a while I don’t know but nonetheless he had a good head on him as we went into the hospital.
The professor didn’t give us any different news, however he delivered the news in a way that seemed to reassure us all much better than previously and Adam liked him, this is a vital thing for Adam, he does best with people he likes and who he feels show a genuine interest in his case.
So for now, the plan is to try to improve his bone marrow by continuing the new drug, there is a possibility that the steroids may be replaced with another drug called Rituximab which is normally used for other types of cancer but may give some improvement for him, the Prof explained that as the existing treatment isn’t working, we need to find something that is different as the leukaemia is clever and learns how to overcome many things that are thrown at it.
Love to all
Colin