Friday, March 3, 2017

Completed Clabridine Treatment

I got the final injection of Clabridine yesterday.  A blood test done last week indicated that my immune system had been whacked pretty hard but was still active enough to need another smack on the head.  Dosages for this second treatment are determined by lymphocyte levels with a range of injections from none to another set across three days.  I only needed the one day.

While I was at the hospital I talked about my worsening condition in light of an immune system that was measurably compromised.  I got what I hope is good news in that the anti-viral drug that I am taking as part of the therapy can cause a temporary worsening of symptoms.   I hope this is the case. As in sincerely hope!

A couple of side notes.  First on Brexit and the NHS.  My primary neuro is Italian.  The nurse that injected me is French.   The Lead Nurse that is running the program is Spanish.  There is ludicrosity that comes out of the EU (like the browser cookie law) but there are a lot of benefits as well.

My disease and the meds that I use to manage symptoms have robbed me of my ability to drive.  This has resulted in my not having a fancy car parked out front costing me money as I now have a relationship with a young (compared to me anyway) taxi driver that has also become a friend over the years we have been driving into London together.  I have to be man handled into the car and Jimmy is always happy to help me.  I pay him well for his service as it is his income and he does a great job but he also goes out of his way for me.  I know that if I needed to call him for help in an emergency that he would be there for me.  During a long day at the hospital it has not been unusual for him to show up with lunch for me.  His wife has also sent us home cooked meals and she does a particularly good curry.  You might expect her to do a nice curry as Jimmy is a nickname and his real name is Zamir Sabbir and he is a devote Muslim.  When he is not keeping me company, or fetching me a lunch, you might find him in the prayer room of the hospital or in the mosque down the road.  Zamir represents mainstream Islamic Culture in a very positive light.  Sure there are radical members of the faith.  Just as there are from every faith.  Zamir is as appalled by the terror as anyone.  He sees nothing in the Koran that supports the terror and he reads it a lot.  Worth thinking about in my opinion.