UPDATE: My Journey So Far…
https://stemcelldonors.org.au/join-the-registry/when-i-donate-blood/
Well… what a journey the past few weeks have been (understatement). It feels very self -indulgent to be writing this update but I am blown away by the messages and love so it’s my way of keeping you updated.
As Matt (my legendary brother) let you know I have been undergoing induction chemotherapy in hospital for Acute Myeloid Leukemia, an aggressive blood cancer. The treatment (7+3 chemo induction) is designed to essentially nuke the leukemia cells and get me into that first stage of remission. I’ve come to learn it’s one of the most intense upfront cancer treatments (it literally zaps the whole blood and immune system). I honestly do not know how kids or older people go through this, and I feel lucky my body was in relatively good shape going into it thanks to all those beautiful Gold Coast sunrise walks and pilates classes!
It has definitely been a rollercoaster of emotions and healthy ups and downs during treatment… which is totally normal for the type of chemo regime FYI!
I'm also usually someone that shares most of my life online, but I've found myself going into a little bubble (which they tell me is normal) and for the first time in my life have tried to embrace sitting still and trying to just focus on being in the present…. and, if you know me it’s a bit of a shock to the system not be going full turbo!
What’s a hospital stay without a practical joke on your Dad.
THE HAIR: I shaved my hair early on with one of my besties Sheree and my brother Matt, who both have a questionable future in hairdressing ;) It actually became a really special moment between us on a Friday afternoon with both tears of happiness and obviously mixed emotions losing the locks. As women, we can be so attached to our hair, but this experience has reminded me it does not define us and is of little importance in the larger scheme of everything, so I have been embracing the shaved head life and looking up future pixie cut styles. Also, discovered I am apparently 70 percent hair thanks to Mum, so the Bert Newton big head jokes probably have to end now, sorry guys - it’s actually a small egg head!
Good news - my head isn’t as big as Bert Newton as first thought! IYKYK
POST CHEMO: The days following chemo, I had had some rough patches, including severe stomach issues and a few infections that almost landed me in ICU… but luckily I didn’t make it to that club. There is, however, a running joke in the hospital that I am a constant networker because I have seen almost every team, including infectious diseases (four times), the ENT team, surgeons, MRI team/radiology, even the team who look at your heart and ofcourse the MVP;s haematology. The girl obviously loves a chat and has obvs gone to extremes to meet new people and it’s given me an idea for a medical series of The Office, some absolute characters!
FENTANYL TRIP: I also had a brief fentanyl hallucination moment, which we can laugh about now! It felt like I was on some sort of ‘trip’and asked the nurses if my hands were going to blow up as I was hallucinating that they were balloon fingers and I was at a heavy metal gig… a fair change from the Lady Gaga concert I recently attended! Safe to say they will not be giving me fentanyl again!
GIRL IN THE BUBBLE:I’ve also been the girl in the bubble confined in my room during the infectious period, but luckily there’s been some good looking tradies to keep me occupied. Hopefully I’ll get back to the penthouse suite one day soon and they’ve now let me outside.
Being let outside after 10 days confined to my room was AMAZING
THANKFUL: The doctors and nurses at Barwon Health have been absolutely incredible. I am so grateful for the care and kindness here. They have essentially been keeping me alive and giving my body everything it needs through this chemo journey, from blood, platelets, antibiotics, you name it, I have probably had it in my system, and I am in awe of them every day. True to form, I have made a few nurse friends along the way and we have been swapping life stories and photos. My favourite homegirl nurse Deb, is a sassy senior nurse who comes in regularly for a good chat and some goss. I’d love to get on the chardy’s with her in the future, although probably the non alcoholic kind for a while.
Also big thanks to to Matt, Dad, Sheree and Naomi rostering on to see me and bringing food my little safe bubble of visitors for now. as well as everyone again fo the love and messages,
Who let these two into the building… my brother Matt and his offspring Olive aka. my twin.
THE FUTURE PATH FWD: I am now Day 24 post chemo and feeling positive. We are now waiting for my blood counts to recover (they’ve been a little slow), as AML chemo wipes out your system, red cells, white cells, neutrophils (which are your immune system), and platelets, so the goal is for my body to start producing them again naturally. It is like wiping a computer and hoping it reloads back up, I’m hoping mine is a MAC and not Windows (please don’t hate on me for that one you Windows cretens). Then hopefully I can have some home time for a bit!
In the next 10 days, I will have a bone marrow biopsy to see if the chemo has successfully cleared the leukemia cells. That result will guide the next stage of treatment, hopefully consolidation chemo!
STEM CELL + TESTING: My case is also being reviewed with leading specialists in Melbourne (apparently one guy is the Godfather of AML), including genomic testing, to tailor the best possible treatment plan. It is likely I may need a stem cell transplant although (it’s still not 100% certain until I get more results), which is why registering as a donor is so important and so easy to do as it could save my life or someone elses: https://stemcelldonors.org.au/join-the-registry/when-i-donate-blood/
The road ahead is still potentially long, but I feel incredibly optimistic, for my age, my strength going into this, and most of all, the people around me and being in Australia. I can’t tell you how lucky we are to live here and many of us won’t know until we go through something like this,.
Thank you for all the love and support, I feel it every single day and keep sending the hillarious messages and updates from the outside.
Taz xx