The Transplant - October 2nd to 8th

 This week has been... a very strange week. I had the stem cell transplant on the 6th, on Wednesday. I was still having pre-transplant chemo until the 4th and then just pre-transplant supportive therapy on the 5th. But in the midst of all that I began experiencing quite unusual side affects, to a fairly extreme nature; hallucinations. 

On Saturday October 2nd I was on the Busulphan chemo and started the Campath chemo. Campath is quite strong and I had side affects fairly quickly, thankfully not too severe though. I was passing out and had abdominal pain. As a result I don't remember much of the evening.

The pain of cancer or the pain of being a Charlton fan?

My reactions seemed to continue into Sunday morning, but were becoming more mild. I woke with some temperature spikes which needed to be treated with paracetemol IVs, loads of drugs and a magnesium IV. After all these I continued with the Busulphan and Campath chemo and was for the most part pretty OK as far as I remember. 

Monday was a very busy day. I was only a couple of days away from the transplant and everything was beginning to ramp up with tests and making sure everything was well to go ahead. Because of how strong the chemos are, they can affect your vital organs. So I was taken for heart scans early on Monday, this involved a very cold slab of what looks like marble against your back while your front is being scanned, I assume some kind of x-ray(esque) machine. I continued to have the final rounds of Busulphan and Campath chemo as well as some phosphate, potassium and magnesium transfusions. So by this point I was all pumped up on chemo which is when things started to take a turn for the more surreal. As I said earlier I won't go into too much detail, but you may remember that Whatsapp, Instagram, Facebook etc were down on Monday evening which seemed to have an effect on my growing paranoia. Busulphan is a chemo which does have a history of causing hallucinations in some patients.

I thought I was becoming isolated in the ward and that everyone was being removed away from me. I eventually for a number of mad reasons called the police just after 1am and made a report (they even turned up to take a statement). From what I remember I was reporting on myself and my family, not on the staff haha. Thankfully everything was in my mind and no crime had been committed, apart from the undue stress and worry I must have been causing. I know I was messaging some people that evening, so I hope I did not worry or upset anyone.

Tuesday and Wednesday very much merged into one for me. I was still in my paranoid and hallucination state.

Some of the chemo that sent me up the wall.

The transplant still went ahead and seems to have gone well, there wasn't any problems during the transfusion and I am very thankful to the young woman who donated as she has given me a second chance. The transplant is a bit anti-climatic, as a lot of people think it is an operation or some big procedure, it isn't. It's just like any transfusion, except it looks like jam and is unbelievably precious.

The transplant with 2 of the wonderful staff. Ignore my crazy eyes, I was deep in the zone at this point.

Thursday I felt shattered, and spent most of the day trying to come to terms with the week. I had a few transfusions and was under a lot of monitoring. Because of my behaviour I was also in the Dolly system as of Monday night. This means I couldn't go anywhere alone, including the loo. This is due to some of my hallucinations causing me to self-harm. I tried to rip my hickman line out and also stabbed myself with a pen.

A nurse circled it in order to make sure the swelling from my mad moment wasn't spreading.

 By the end of thursday though I had been removed from the Dolly system. I slept well overnight and Friday found myself back to my old self. It feels like it has been an incredibly long and draining week. I could not be more lucky to be undergoing my treatment at King's College Hospital with the wonderful NHS. The staff on Elf and Libra ward have been second to none and I am so grateful for all their help, patience and understanding during what has been a truly bizarre week. On Friday evening I moved to my own room in Derek Mitchell Unit ward where I will likely be for the next couple of weeks.

Thankyou to everyone who has contacted me this week, asking how the transplant is and offering support. I hope this goes some way to explaining any incoherent answers I may have given haha. Please do continue to donate blood, platelets, plasma etc as it does so much good for so many people. And I hope those who are not yet on the Anthony Nolan register do consider joining, you really would be giving someone another chance at life. I hope that one day I am able to properly thank my donor.

Website; https://theadamriley.com/

As always, all links can be found here; https://linktr.ee/AdamRiley?

Big thanks to Laura donating blood!