So with the treatment having started I was already starting to feel the effects and it was not long before I was put into isolation to prevent me from getting infections. At the time I was quite happy about this because I was tired all the time and a private room would be quieter. I also didn't like the idea of getting an infection. Despite all the best efforts it appeared I already had a chest infection however. I was subject to a daily chest X-Ray to keep an eye on this.

To be honest this would not have been so bad had it not been for the congestion the infection caused which made it very difficult for me to swallow any food. Which did nothing to help the trouble I was already having with food.

One thing that I had not really given much thought to due to the shock of everything that was going on around me was the fact that the chemotherapy treatment would most liekly leave me being sterile. While it was not really on my mind at the time I must say I am very thankful to the doctors who made arrangements for me to deposit sperm in the H.A.R.I clinic in Dublin. Visiting the H.A.R.I clinic was another sureal experience and something that I never imagined I would need to do. None a positive experience as the staff there are excellent and made sure everything was done professionally.

At this stage I was pretty positive I was in the right hands in Beaumont, their attention to detail and level of care was and still to this day is extremely impressive.

It was at this time that something happened which thankfully has healed quite well but still bothers me from time to time. Out of the blue one morning when I woke up, my right hand was completely numb, no feeling what so ever. Becuase I had no sensation in my hand I could do very little with it. I found simple tasks like holding a phone to my ear or drinking a class of water almost impossible. After some scans it was found that I had a blood clot on my brain that was causing the problem. Unfortunately there was absolutely nothing that could be done about this except to wait for my body to break down the clot naturally. This however took close to 8 months to really happen to any degree where I was able to use my hand properly. Every step was taken to try to help me including occupational therapists and physiotherapists giving me different excersises to try to help. Nothing seemed to work however until the clot broke down and I was able to slowly re-train my hand to do normal every day tasks such as writing and using a computer.

The entire time I was in hospital I had my laptop with me and it was one of the few things that kept me sane during the long days and nights when I could not leave my hospital bed. A god send was my good friend Niall who gave me a lend of his Clearwire broadband internet connection. Without this I truly don't know what I would have done with my time. I must have watched every video on Youtube! While I was on MSN every day single day I was rarely in the mood to talk to anybody, my hand was also making typing so tedious and frustrating that I could barely tolerate chatting at all. Though in hindsight I thank all those who tried to keep me company online.

An odd thing I was experiencing at this time was very strange cravings for certain things. While my parents and relations would visit me they would call me on their way in to ask if I wanted anything brought in. Invariably I would have some odd request, such as bottles of Coke, or cream cakes or McDonald's milkshakes or a cheese burger. Now take into account that I could barely stomach water at the time! Obviously these things would be brought to me and I would take one mouthful, my stomach would do a somersault and I would be sick immediately. I have no explanation for why I got these cravings but they were really odd and despite know that I would not be able for them, I continued to ask for them! So there you have it, having cancer is just like pregnancy! 

Well that is it for today folks! I now need to motivate myself to tell the next part of the tale which was the most difficult time for me, my family and close friends. I will warn those without a strong stomach that this part of the story is a little more gruesome so to speak. It will not be easy for me to tell, however without the details the story is very incomplete.

Thanks for reading.

__________________________

Sign up for the run!