The house went out of its way to put on a show for us:
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Firstly, the lemon tree excelled itself by producing a huge crop. As the house was still ours at the time, some fruits found their way into an odd gin and tonic, whilst others were "exported" with us to Somerset !
I had pruned the bougainvillea right back to its skeleton last autumn. As hoped, it responded by putting on a truly magnificent show for us.
That was the good news, so now the perhaps not-so-good news. To remind you, I have been on maintenance treatment for myeloma since July 2012. For most of that time I've been in remission. At my latest clinic, my blood tests show a possible (and I stress possible) relapse. Relapse is inevitable at some time - it's the nature of myeloma. At each monthly appointment, I have a full blood test which checks such things as my white and red blood counts, my platelet count, and liver and kidney functions. In addition I receive the results of tests from my previous appointment. This latter information requires that my samples are sent away for laboratory testing. There are two main tests: The first is for paraprotein (secreted from active myeloma). The second is for free light chains (kappa in my case). Whilst the kappa has remains stable, the paraprotein has risen to a count of 5. If this is repeated at this appointment's test (I get the result at my next appointment) then I will no longer be considered to be in remission and I will be withdrawn from the trial.
Assuming I relapse, it remains to be seen what happens next. If tests indicate that the myeloma has again become active then I can expect to initially receive medication. Precisely what that will be will depend on a number of factors, including my preference. In the medium term, I would hope to have a second high dose therapy and stem cell transplant. My last one in 2012 produced an excellent response and I'm certainly fit enough for another. Most importantly, the development of new medications has revolutionised the treatment of myeloma.
Perhaps the worst part of all this is the waiting. I attend consultant's clinic every 28th days. I now must wait until the next visit to discover the test result. In the meantime, I have "reverted to type" and am actively researching my options.
I take something positive from this. We have sold Villa Berengaria at exactly the right time. I had in mind to return to private flying. I will now put that ambition on hold for a while.
Patience is the companion of wisdom
Saint Augustine
Keep well
Stephen
