[DanBalsdonParticipant]

Ive found sometime to give you all an update! Ill do it in bullet form as theres quite a lot!

-Dad has now finished his Velcade treatment, no side effects at all!
-He is going to the local hospice(rowcroft) for physiotheory 2 times a week, he has a littl ebit of movement back in his legs
-The railway benevolant fund is about to grant him with the money for a brand new electric wheelchair to get around the house and out side alot easier as we live on a hill and the doorways in the house are not wide enough for the wheelchair to get through.
-Me and Dad are going down to Dereford tomorrow for to see Dr.Hunter about another stem cell transplant which will be happening soon while the cancer level is low. Luckily enough, there seems to be enough pre-harvest cells for a straight transplant which is great!
-I have my last day of school on friday and more exams soon to come!

There is however, a couple of things I would like to ask about the second stem cell transplant; How successful is it likely to be? What sort of condition will I see my dad in? (as I was very young for his first one and cant remember)

Many Thanks,

Dan Balsdon,
Torquay

[DanBalsdonParticipant]

I am still at sixth form and I am getting a couple of exam results tomorrow and I dont think I will be able to get any allowances as I am in education still and that im only 17. Dad still has around 3/4 months of full pay left at work and then he will retire on ill health I believe. I will give MacMillan a call tomorrow from school, thank you muchly Eve!

[DanBalsdonParticipant]

Hey guys, just going to post another update now!

What a 6 weeks it has been. Dad got taken into hospital around 6 weeks ago with pain in his legs and struggled to move them at all thanks to the pain. Having been out for a meal on the thursday night and him being able to walk to/from the car as a passenger, we thought things were on the mend. This wasn't the case. Within a week in hospital, he had lost all movement in his right leg and then the movemnt in the let soon followed. There is still feeling in them but the spine has compressed the spinal cord aswell as a tumour which also caused some damage to it. He came back home on monday and is now wheelchair bound. Dad is in good spirt despite this massive knock back but I just would like to say how great the NHS have been. Having looked after him for all that time in hospital, we now have an electric bed, hoist, wheelchair and 2 commodes at home aswell as everything we need. We have 2 carrers comes 4 times a day which is free until next month or so and then they will charge but he is doing great.

I just need a bit of help, i am finding it quite tough and not showing it at all to be honest. My sister has flown over from Dubai and has been here for a few weeks now but leaves around the 22nd of March. Im worried that although my mum(my parents are separated) will help now and then, that it is just me and him who live here. I just need abit of help/support I think.

Hope your all well,

Daniel

[DanBalsdonParticipant]

Wow, I never knew I would be able to talk so freely on here, thank you all so much for giving your experiences and it has helped my understanding so so much! I had some good news today, dad called and said that his first couple of weeks worth of velcade has lowered the PP levels and the myloma hotspots are shrinking. As well as this, he now has a wheelchair and he seems to be enjoying it! I'm about to go over the hospital now as school is just coming to the end, I hope he is in good spirits and I will keep you updated when I find more out! Thank you all so much!

Daniel x

[DanBalsdonParticipant]

They decided not to go ahead with the radio theory and he has been on a steroid drip a few times a day since tuesday which finished tonight. They are going to leave it as it is and try to control the pain before sending him to another local hospital who have a special radiotherapy center and he will rehabilitate there for. He is also going to be given a wheelchair and it looks like he will be selling his car as he seems to think he wont be driving again for at least a while. Had one of my sisters over from Dubai to visit Dad this week and she is around for another 3 weeks, the other is coming across next weekend. The long road gets longer.

[DanBalsdonParticipant]

Hey guys, just thought I would take 5 minutes away from everything to give you an update. Dad started his Velcade on the 15th January and has so far had no side effects directly linked to it. The only thing that has cropped up is that we had to call another ambulance on friday morning as he couldn't move or get out of bed to take his education at all. With a suspected collapse of the spine(which was just 2 fractures to the lower spine), the hospital were worried. After getting a lot of morphine and medication down him he was able to move one of his left legs okay but there was trouble with his right leg. After having an MRI scan yesterday, the results have come back an it seems as if paralysis has hit on the lower right leg and he can no longer move it, but can move his toes. The next step is that he is going to have radiotherapy on it which is supposedly not advised while on Velcade right? I was just wondering what the risks are from this? and what would happen then? Im not used to seeing him like this at all as he usually walks about 7 miles a day on the railway for work!

Hope your all okay,

Daniel, Torquay. (PS. Keep an eye out for me on skysports 1 tonight, local derby time if your into your football!)

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