13. The New Bike

(Last day of Sinclair Trip; Matt & Tom at Loch Lomond; Observer Mag)

The waiting continues... I was hoping to find out this week (or last) if I have a matched bone marrow donor but due to the hold up with DNA testing, it seems there is no progress to report. I was also hoping to write the news on my 13th blog update and prove that 13 isn't always an unlucky number...

Things have well and truly settled back into the old routine as they were before the wedding and the honeymoon. All the blood tests have been coming back fine and although my platelets are still a bit on the low side the doc told me I could, if I wanted to, go back on the rugby field and start playing again. Didn't go down too well with my wife, her mum and my mum. Think I'll just keep the boots hanging in retirement and resort to the tipping comps and shouting from the sidelines. The rules with retired players are pretty simple - the older you get, the better you were.

My 2nd PCR test (6 month) came back last week. I was expecting a follow up call from the Professor and she caught me off guard...as I jumped out of the shower, I ran out into the bedroom and picked up my phone whilst dripping on the carpet. I guess I could say the call was both good and bad. The good news is that it had halved from 14% and gone down to 7%...great I thought but something in the tone of her voice meant that it wasn't so good. The concern was that, although it was going down in the right direction, they were hoping for the test to come back with a reading of 2-3%. The dose will remain the same and after another 2 weeks I'll receive another PCR test and then the dreaded bone marrow biopsy using a needle the size of a javelin...

The second Bone Marrow Clinic was also run recently...it was held at a local hospital and the turn out wasn't too bad. Could have been better if there wasn't a fire alarm leaving all the women from the hospital outside checking out the men in yellow.

On the 25th June I've signed myself up for the Anthony Nolan bike from Glasgow to Loch Lomond and before I knew it, I'd been persuaded to join the Pedal for Scotland bike ride (27th August), only finding out later that it's from Glasgow to Edinburgh (a lazy 50 miles). It'd be good to get out on the road and breath in some fresh scottish air I thought...only thing is that I don't even have a bike...time to hit eBay and sort something out. Probably end up cruising across the country on a kids BMX with my eBay skills...

The article that went out in the Observer newspaper last weekend ended up being a great result for both me and the Anthony Nolan Trust. The key message was to increase the amount of people on the donor list and it looks like we were quite successful in doing that. I still have to be hopeful that I will be found a match but the goal is still the same - find everyone that is waiting some new marrow a perfectly matched donor...

"Being a bone-marrow donor is as easy as giving blood. People think it involves some gruesome operation where the marrow is sucked out of your bones. Medication is given for five days to boost stem cells in the bloodstream, then the blood is simply taken out of the vein and the stem cells extracted. It's as easy as that, over in three hours, and you've potentially saved someone from dying of cancer."

12. Starting Gun

It's not what I expected...

As the announcer called the 10km start, a group of us wearing the bright yellow 'Banana Army' shirts were very quickly overtaken. The shoulders immediately jostling to gain full advantage of the first stretch of road before it curled up through the hilly Edinburgh streets. With my dodgy ankle firmly strapped, we leapt into a full power walk as I expected many others to do...only to realise that within minutes we were all alone at the back of the pack being closely followed by the police car and sweeper vehicle (reminds me of being a teenager). We did however proudly fly the Leukaemia research flag and the girls (and Col W) got into action by raising even more cash to add to what was already raised. The total before the starting gun was at £2,345 and with a few mixed coins and some female persuasion, the total crept up to a healthy £2,710. The outcome if the walk/race was that Dawsie and I came 4th last out of 8,000, pipping a few fatties at the line that went out too fast...

The Donor Day in London was a clear success. After a huge effort from staff at Pernod Ricard the day finally went ahead after many flyers, emails and bribes... We hoped to add at least 14 to the Bone Marrow Donor registry after hearing some stats from previous events. The total at close of play was an extra 32 donors. A great effort! With so much going on around me, it was hard at times to concentrate on my work...the emotions creeping up on me every now and then. Bizarre to think that there are 32 people wanting to help out, knowing full well that they could be a match for anyone in the world (or even me).

The 'wedding bliss' has eventually subsided after 7 fully charged and emotional weeks. The aussie crew came and went...my folks were still here when we got back from honeymoon, so good to still have them around and have a bit more time to see the sights (Scottish hills and more hospitals). My 2nd PCR test has been taken and hopefully the results will be back with me within weeks. I know it's completely out of my hands so I'm trying not to think about it...hard sometimes as the 1st result wasn't as good as we had hoped and the dose increase has taken place. I've also been reading quite a few cancer and leukaemia sufferers websites lately. Sufferer was the only word I could think of there...I see myself and others living with it, not suffering... It's good to read the fight and determination others have found within themselves. There's some gutsy people out there. Of course they are all trying to keep people informed of how they are and progress, etc but I've thought that there is some part in us all, that we just want to be remembered. I guess everybody wants to be remembered for doing something, hopefully good but when you get hit with a cancer diagnosis, good prognosis or bad, I think we want to show people what we're made of...if it is striving for inspiration or just to be a good person...

Good news is that Dawsie (best man) and Nina (bridesmaid) have both become engaged since our wedding. Not to each other... It's good to see there are a few more Scot/Aussie weddings coming in the near future. Maybe get another chance to don the 'tartan skirt'...

In the meantime I will keep working hard, try not to eat so many pastries from Greggs (love the steak bake), munching my Gleevec pills and keep my big digits crossed, hoping I will find out by the end of the month if I have an American bone marrow donor...