BMT: Day 5

I was very happy to learn that we will be moving into Uncle Alvin's and Aunty Peiqi's new apartment when I am discharged. They very kindly offered their place which I hear has a big TV ... I can't wait to watch my DVDs on a big screen! The apartment has a got a view being on the 9th floor and hopefully, I can see the trains go past. I am very grateful to my Uncle Alvin and Aunty Peiqi.

In the meantime, I get very distressed whenever I puke up since it is quite violent and increasingly with blood in it. The doctors have switched the anti-puke medicine to one which I had been given during the past 4 rounds of chemo. Fingers crossed this one will work on me. We are guessing the vomiting could be caused by one of the medicines. The one we are suspecting has to be taken for more than 6 months and can't be avoided so we are still hoping it is caused by the after-effects of the chemo as the doctors have suggested. Also, the skin on my bum has broken which is making it very painful whenever it comes into contact with water, pee or poo - which is about every 15 minutes (when I am not alseep). On the bright side, I am still dealing with the same two problems and not any new ones.

I had my first blood transfusion today after the transplant. Apparently, the body takes 120 days to produce red blood cells so it means I will need regular blood transfusions for several months. My platelet level is also very low and because there is blood in my puke (can also be caused by very low platelet count), I am expecting a platelet transfusion tomorrow. Platelets are also very slow to reproduce so I will also need regular platelet transfusions for several months too. This is expected for everyone who has a BMT.