Wow – day three and the last of the steroids. Corr, my neurologist would be having a hissy fit if he knew – he never gave me anything of the sort, no matter how much I pleaded.

How do I feel? Actually, not too different! A little extra jittery, needing to go to the loo more (and urgently), but overall, comfortable. Twice an evening, I’ve been given late shots of G-CSF – a drug that tells my stem cells to leave my bone marrow and enter my bloodstream – and I still don’t feel any different.

No bone pain, which I’d heard about, but I’m laid out on my bed, writing and editing on my laptop, perfectly happy.

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A Slower Pace

Life, work, and fundraising were just so manic before leaving for Russia. Now, just sitting here, relaxing, I couldn’t be happier.

It actually feels a little holiday-esque – I’m so well looked after, everyone is so friendly, and there is sooo much food. (I’ll talk about food soon!).

Yesterday was much of the same – steroids and jabs – which meant I had a few nice hours out of the hospital with Jen before she left for home today. We grabbed something to eat, chatted, and slowly walked back.

Then, as we approached the hospital, this happened…

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A Moment of Kindness

(Taken from Jen’s Facebook post:)

“On our walk back from the restaurant, we were stopped by an elderly gentleman outside the hospital. At first, he walked by, looking at Alex struggling to walk… then he turned around and came back to us. He stopped Alex, and with no English spoken, took his hand and started gesturing to Alex’s legs, his stick, and then upwards. It was clear, from the tears in his eyes, that he was wishing good things for Alex… Lovely that, from a city that has seemed so intimidating, we were wished well by a total stranger… Now, you wouldn’t get that in London!”

It was a really lovely moment – just a shame we couldn’t understand him fully.

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Jen Heads Home

So, Jen has left to go back home for a few weeks.

I don’t do tears… but once she left, I couldn’t help it this time. There’s no one better.

I’m pleased Jen’s going home – time will fly by much quicker for her, and I’ll be home before she knows it.

Spending the night at her hotel, the construction and cars doing burnouts outside through the night were so noisy – she’ll be pleased to be back in her own bed.

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Sleeping in the Hospital

Like my night at the hotel, I’ve been struggling to sleep at times in the hospital too – but not because of any noise (it’s actually lovely and peaceful here). Maybe it’s the thoughts about the treatment?, what comes next?, or just the fact that I’m in a strange place?

That evening Dr. Fedorenko suggested a sleeping pill. I popped it down when I was ready, Hmmm just as I thought to myself that it wasn’t working.., then… [gone]!

Slept right through to 9:30 am – when normally, I’d be woken by the light at 6 am.

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That Apprehension…

I actually have none – none at all.

Everything here is done at a lovely pace, and talking to others who are a week or two ahead of me, they don’t look ill considering they’ve had a large blast of chemotherapy. They have smiles on their faces and seem to be taking it all in their stride.

Dr. Fedorenko has spoken before about how he’s refined his treatment over the years – and honestly, as far as chemo goes, he’s nailed it. I haven’t heard of a single person here saying they’ve needed to vomit.

As I’ve said before – I’m totally sure I made the right choice coming to Russia.

I couldn’t be more relaxed, fed, and well looked after.

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Big Day Tomorrow

Tonight will be my last two jabs of the stem cell stimulants – let’s hope they’ve done their job.

Then, tomorrow – I get a catheter placed in my neck line. It’s for easy drug administration but, more importantly, to filter my blood for those stem cell troopers.

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Video Time!

I run a little-known YouTube channel called The Palm Off – something I do at weekends to keep busy while indoors. Naturally, my viewers are probably wondering where I’ve gone!

They’ve been so supportive since I told them about my MS, so I’ve made this video update to tell my story and keep them in the loop.

Enjoy!