Let's kill those pesky white cells...

Today is day -4 which means it's three more days until I become neutropenic and have zero white blood cells - as well as Christmas eve. At day 0, I will have my own stem cells transplanted (infused) back into my body, so the days leading upto and afterwards are the most critical and today is really where it starts.

Today is also ATG day along with chemo, continued Mesna and various other steroids, tablets and something really potent that makes you pee… A lot?

What is ATG?

"Anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) is an infusion of horse or rabbit-derived antibodies against human T cells, which is used in the prevention and treatment of acute rejection in organ transplantation and therapy of aplastic anemia". This is an eight hour infusion along with the Mesna.

So in short the ATG (rabbit/horse/rat poison so I was told) kills of any remaining white cells (or t-cells) left running around my body and helps me get to the neutropenic stage where i will have no immune system? "I always wanted to be like Roland Rat growing up". Funnily enough, Rat Rapping by Roland Rat was a 1983 track produced by two chaps called S.Jeffries & M.Rye.

Talking of coincidences... I was born in Queen Charlottes hospital Hammersmith just a few hundred yards away from my bedroom window and what's even stranger is that when I have my transplant I will be 'reborn' in the very same hospital? How bizarre is that?

So back to today... I woke up very tired, more tired than usual. Still connected to the Mesna (fluids) and filling 5 bed pan things, I walked up and down the ward corridor half a dozen times to keep mobile before I was room bound to have the chemo and ATG. Now the chemo went fine as did the ATG test that was carried out first to see if I was likely to have any reactions. It wasn't until three hours after my 'real' dose of ATG was connected up that I began to feel not quite right.

I felt shivery, flu like pains throughout the body, fever, swetting, temperature of 38.7 and it was having an effect on my ms symptoms. My legs became heavy and I was struggling to walk or even pick them up, I was losing the strength and coordination in my hands and just wanted to sleep. All common side effects of the atg I was told. Amazingly, two paracetamol and a few hours kip sorted it out? The hardest thing was having to just ride it out knowing that it is only temporary and from an ms point of view I had experienced these symptoms before.

The staff here are fantastic and I have never felt so well informed and looked after - not even at home? Oops... that will get me in trouble? Suffice to say, my temperature has now gone down and I feel normal as I can be.

So as I look out the window for Santa I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a hoppy, healthy and prosperous New Year wherever you are.

Mark x

A little blast from the past