Transplant - Day 0

Hi Guys!!
Before I start this post I just want to talk about the new features on my blog. The first feature is a globe at the side of the page showing where the viewers of my blog are located, its quite interesting. The slight problem is that it will start counting from today, not from the start of my blog. I have actually had over 500 views now, ranging from the UK to America and Australia (hello to my overseas readers).
The next new feature is a share option at the bottom of each post. This will allow you to share links to posts you like through Twitter, Facebook, E-mail, Blogger and Google Buzz. So please dont forget to keep spreading the word.
Time for me to explain what "Day 0" is - Day 0 is transplant day, the day where I recieve my new cells. The day after will be called Day +1, the day after that will be +2 and so on. I just thought I'd explain that so you have a rough idea of the timescale in this post.
Day 0 came and the cells were in the hospital, after travelling from America and The Czech Republic. I would be having 2 bags of cells from the Czech umbilical cords, as they were stored differently from the Americans, who only had 1 bag. The procedure itself was fairly easy for me, but the nurses performing it had to be very careful. The cells were stored in liquid nitrogen ( I think, it was like -140 degrees) to prevent them from dying/ being damaged. The nurses had to grab the cells with thermal gloves and then place them into a bath type container which would defrost them.
Once defrosted the cells were ready to go. Each bag was put up individually and was allowed to drip into me through my line (as mentioned in earlier posts) just like a blood transfusion really! Each bag lasted about 20 minutes, and the nurses performed regular observations to make sure my sexy self wasnt having any dodgy reactions (as I have a record for that sorta thing now!). The whole transplant took about an hour, no reactions, and the most dramatic thing about the whole thing was that I managed to thrash my dad at FIFA whilst the transplant was happening (playing as none other than the Czech Republic).


Me, Laura and Katie - The nurses that performed my transplant.

 You can see a tube running along my face in the picture, this is a feeding tube so that I was still fed even when I was too ill to eat myself.
Also, just thought I might add this bit, for a few days after the transplant I smelled of sweetcorn, although I personally couldnt smell it. There is a good reason for this. The cells were stored with a preservative, which is excreted through the pores as sweat. So, basically, my b.o. was sweetcorn-ish for a few days.
The next few days were very rough: I felt tired, sick, my stomach hurt, I was peeing out blood at one point and thats all I can really remember as I was sleeping for most of it.

I'm gunna leave it there for now, as there is still quite a lot to say. I dont exactly wanna blab it all out now and ruin the suspense do I?

cheers guys
Andy
:)