Sorry it has been so long between updates! Things have been a little too social for blogging!
Just to recap on the last blog - Shane's eye CMV is gradually clearing up. The medication for this has wreaked havoc with his blood counts. As a result of this, he has returned to what is affectionately known as "jabby-jabs". This is really called Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor (GCSF). This injection into the tummy stimulates the bone marrow to produce more blood basically. This is what was often used to bring shane back from neutropaenia. This also means he suffers from GCSF pain - which can only be described as deep, bony pain - unimaginable by anyone unless they have personally experienced it themselves. This pain causes all different parts of his body to go into spasm very unexpectedly. Pain killers help somewhat, but really the best way to endure such a problem is to sleep it off. Only, last weekend I think we discovered that too many sleep meds can possibly cancel each other out! Bugger!
The other part of the treatment for his eye CMV is a reduction in his immunosuppression. Subsequently this has caused "mild" graft vs host disease in shane's upper gut. The main symptom - fear of eating! This has been a bit hectic as shane has been fine most of the time, until it came to meal times - when he would freak out about food and not eat (or vomit in some cases). Some foods were palatable for him, but neither of us really knew what!
This lead to a loss of about 4kgs in the last four weeks. One meal a day does not sustain anyone well, let alone someone special like Shane.
Treatment for this was to return to steroids.
Its only a 5mg dose, but after spending so long weening off them, its just a tad disappointing! But, within two days of taking them, Shane was able to eat again. So clearly the benefits out-way the negatives.
Now, the foot...
We had fabulous weather! It was a perfect winter's day where the water was so glassy, the waves were heaps of fun, and we were with with some good mates. Shane had a good strong paddle happening, but fatigued so quickly. It really is a miracle that he was out there in the first place.
But, as the law of surfing states "He who does not catch wave in, does not get out'. As we were ready to leave, Shane had to catch at least one wave to help him get back to the beach. This lead to the next law of surfing "He who surfs like kook gets injured".
One spectacular stack and Shane's foot collided with his fin.
Three stitches and a whole lot of cytotoxic blood later, Shane is all fixed up, and I am almost passed out on the chairs outside. After all I have witnessed with Shane, I clearly can't handle him bleeding! Makes no sense!
A huge thanks to the gentleman at Peregian who helped us by providing some bandaging and a hose! We owe you a beer big fella!
Today Dr Cam Curley just laughed at Shane and congratulated him for being out there. He also gave Shane a tetanus shot - one of many shots to come in the next few years.
xx
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