‘How Low Can You Go?’ I’m Doing Well!

Just a quickie – saw Profski today and my paraprotein has now dropped from a score of 2, to being 'two zones'. Hopefully not quite the size of the zones on the London Tube Map, more like a teenager's nipples I was thinking, for some obscure reason. Then as soon as I typed it, I thought it was a bit gross.

But anyway – good news! For as the man says, the slower it comes down, the slower (sometimes) it goes back up. So hopefully in another month or so it will be 'undetectable' – ah, that paradise state of desirable nothingness.

So – today was the usual old bollocks of a routine. Check in. Have blood test. Pee in an unfeasibly small pot (it varies as to whether they take pity on you, and give you a jug to pee in first, or take the piss out of you – literally – by making you hover with tiny pot in hand and inevitably, wee all over fingers. Which I make sure I then wipe back on them in my minor act of patient retribution..) Read the Telegraph and do as many of the Sudoku puzzles as possible. Have tea, try not to eat the biscuits. Then see Prof once the basic 'numbers' from the urine sample are back. Discuss football. Him getting in a lift in Madrid Airport with lots of Mexicana Airlines flight staff and getting out again very sharply. His chairmanship of various Boards. And, if lucky – my state of health. Today, the need to have another bone density scan to check I'm not crumbling away too much.  Get booked in for Thursday, more time off work and never at a handy time of day.

Go downstairs to the Chemo Lounge and have large canula stabbed into hand. Have IV dose of Zometa (bone strengthening stuff) – takes a mere 15 mins. Have canula 'flushed' with saline – takes bloody ages. Persuade a patient's visitor to get me a banana as realise its 3pm and getting hungry (although did have a very good smoked salmon & scrambled egg breakfast at 9am this morning in Hatton Garden, while taking a client brief). Get a hug from nurse that haven't seen for a while – they are nice. Wonder at the poor woman opposite with no hair, who has dozed off and is snoring like a sumo, wow, impressive. Try and read Daily Mail (urgh) and do crossword with a broken pen, writing like a gibbon with my right hand as stupidly let them attach IV to left mitt. Get a delivery of drugs from the pharmacist – today's offering is a pot of calcium tablets – the one and only things that actually taste nice as you chew them – bonus, vanilla.

Get plasters stuck to all orifices newly opened by needles. Thank all nurses and escape to car. Home, to solace of Diet Coke and a chunk of Hawksey's Toblerone. And then back to working – workshop process for unexpected workshop tomorrow, latest status of a proposal, workshop process for next week to client etc etc. Usual odd mix of a day of work & hospital, weird life but there you go.

'Scotty Two Zones' – get me! S x