Birthday - 23 Weeks Post TX
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Today is my birthday. I am 51. I am also 23 weeks post treatment.
And I feel terrific.
If my nurse lived in Salem she would be burned as a witch.
Everything she predicted would happen has happened.
I was warned clearly from the start that I would not really start feeling better until all the chemicals had left my body and my system had recovered.
She said it would take six months.
This has now happened in the last week or so.
I have even taken up swimming and those muscles which have not been used for so long are beginning to loosen and tone up.
The treatment has redistributed my weight and I look really good. My face is shining and my eyes sparkle.
Its unbelievable and I wouldn’t have believed it was going to be possible if I hadn’t been told and forewarned by my nurse.
The post treatment phase is the most difficult part of TX. You naturally expect to feel better straight away and the time in recovery seems to drag.
But it has an end.
I do think that it may take longer than this if you have abused or burned out your body previously. I do know some who are taking a very long time to recover but when I discover their past it invariably shows they had been burning the candle at both ends for many years prior to TX.
There are also the cases where someone has an underlying medical condition which necessitates them giving up the treatment at an early stage.
Thyroid problems are often the culprit.
The body can only take so much and if you borrow energy from your body stores today you will have to pay it back sometime.
Users of stimulants know this fact all too well.
Not only is my health surging back but exciting things have been happening on the work front.
Right out of the blue the BBC got in touch about ten days ago. They are going to do a Radio 4 drama about the hepc blogging community that formed in early 2005.
The original bloggers met up in London for a brainstorming session with the compiler of the blogs and it is set to be broadcast in a few weeks.
It will be on Radio 4 at two in the afternoon and is called,
“Llama lashes and grumpy old gits”.
I have read the script and it looks set to be a winner.
Truly a landmark for the hepc cause.
As a result of this I have been commissioned to write a book. This has never happened to me before and for a relative unknown (I did two years in journalism) it is unheard of.
All these things coming together has sent my spirits soaring and I feel like I am in a dream.
As one door opens another closes and one door was rudely slammed in my face last week.
A forum I was invited to participate in when it began last year has undergone a lot of controversy. A lot of this was entirely self made and could have been avoided but I have been lumped together with some outspoken people and banned.
Banned without so much as a by your leave, a thank you, or a gold watch.
It couldn’t have come at a better time and frees me from any responsibility I may have felt to help others on treatment.
This blog is enough. It stands as a landmark, a sign post to guide others on the journey. I know it has helped many because of the emails I have received (some from people without hepc) Somehow, now, the 38 weeks spent in virtual isolation, in misery a lot of the time, all seem worthwhile.
At the BBC meeting I met Jonathan Colam my first original hepc blog contact. He looked fantastic, almost like a film star. I make a point of saying this because Jonathan had the virus since he was 11 years old when he was injected with it by a doctor who was treating him for haemophilia. He cleared the virus last year at the age of 35.
Sadly, we did not have time to chat much but he said some very interesting things about his post TX experience that I hope to get his permission to share.
It is an unusual experience to meet someone you have only know through emails and phone calls.
There is a saying that being personally acquainted in the flesh with someone you have only known through their books or letters is often a letdown. This was not the case with Jonathan. I found Jonathan in the flesh far more interesting than having read his blog.
So, truly it is onwards and upwards. It has been a long winter and a late spring but I have a feeling it is going to burst into glorious summer.
********************************************************************************
Today is my birthday. I am 51. I am also 23 weeks post treatment.
And I feel terrific.
If my nurse lived in Salem she would be burned as a witch.
Everything she predicted would happen has happened.
I was warned clearly from the start that I would not really start feeling better until all the chemicals had left my body and my system had recovered.
She said it would take six months.
This has now happened in the last week or so.
I have even taken up swimming and those muscles which have not been used for so long are beginning to loosen and tone up.
The treatment has redistributed my weight and I look really good. My face is shining and my eyes sparkle.
Its unbelievable and I wouldn’t have believed it was going to be possible if I hadn’t been told and forewarned by my nurse.
The post treatment phase is the most difficult part of TX. You naturally expect to feel better straight away and the time in recovery seems to drag.
But it has an end.
I do think that it may take longer than this if you have abused or burned out your body previously. I do know some who are taking a very long time to recover but when I discover their past it invariably shows they had been burning the candle at both ends for many years prior to TX.
There are also the cases where someone has an underlying medical condition which necessitates them giving up the treatment at an early stage.
Thyroid problems are often the culprit.
The body can only take so much and if you borrow energy from your body stores today you will have to pay it back sometime.
Users of stimulants know this fact all too well.
Not only is my health surging back but exciting things have been happening on the work front.
Right out of the blue the BBC got in touch about ten days ago. They are going to do a Radio 4 drama about the hepc blogging community that formed in early 2005.
The original bloggers met up in London for a brainstorming session with the compiler of the blogs and it is set to be broadcast in a few weeks.
It will be on Radio 4 at two in the afternoon and is called,
“Llama lashes and grumpy old gits”.
I have read the script and it looks set to be a winner.
Truly a landmark for the hepc cause.
As a result of this I have been commissioned to write a book. This has never happened to me before and for a relative unknown (I did two years in journalism) it is unheard of.
All these things coming together has sent my spirits soaring and I feel like I am in a dream.
As one door opens another closes and one door was rudely slammed in my face last week.
A forum I was invited to participate in when it began last year has undergone a lot of controversy. A lot of this was entirely self made and could have been avoided but I have been lumped together with some outspoken people and banned.
Banned without so much as a by your leave, a thank you, or a gold watch.
It couldn’t have come at a better time and frees me from any responsibility I may have felt to help others on treatment.
This blog is enough. It stands as a landmark, a sign post to guide others on the journey. I know it has helped many because of the emails I have received (some from people without hepc) Somehow, now, the 38 weeks spent in virtual isolation, in misery a lot of the time, all seem worthwhile.
At the BBC meeting I met Jonathan Colam my first original hepc blog contact. He looked fantastic, almost like a film star. I make a point of saying this because Jonathan had the virus since he was 11 years old when he was injected with it by a doctor who was treating him for haemophilia. He cleared the virus last year at the age of 35.
Sadly, we did not have time to chat much but he said some very interesting things about his post TX experience that I hope to get his permission to share.
It is an unusual experience to meet someone you have only know through emails and phone calls.
There is a saying that being personally acquainted in the flesh with someone you have only known through their books or letters is often a letdown. This was not the case with Jonathan. I found Jonathan in the flesh far more interesting than having read his blog.
So, truly it is onwards and upwards. It has been a long winter and a late spring but I have a feeling it is going to burst into glorious summer.
********************************************************************************
posted by Paul | 8:36 AM
2 Comments:
Happy birthday to you, your news is truely remarkable and it is such good news to read of your positive progress, getting well and even swimming!
You have certainly had a hard slog of it all of late, it is heartwarming to learn that this is changing with this radio programme and the news of a book is very exciting indeed, you have a lot to share with regards to hep c.
I am sorry that you were upset by your treatment on the forum I can see how what you describe would hurt especially being vulnerable from treatment yourself. I will miss your input there. I think you will find though, that you will continue to help others on the treatment journey through your blog.
Release the negative, embrace the positive and march forward all toned, shiney and sparking to the rich and promising future that you deserve.
God bless you always.
Miss Poppy
Thanks for that, Poppy.
Yes, what goes around comes around and the sun shines on the righteous.
Its good to feel great.
Paul.
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