The Nature of the eBeast Newsletter- December 2007
Reproduced from the Camel Productions’ Website
Greetings!
Just when we were going to send out an update, our broadband went down. 10 days later, we are finally back up and running.
MOONDANCES New DVD and t-shirt from CAMEL
When not playing his guitar, Andrew has kept busy whilst in the isolation ward, and he has autographed 500 copies of Moondances. We are ready to offer the DVD for sale now, along with our Moondances t-shirt.
ANDREW’S HEALTH DAY 15 POST TRANSPLANT…
Thank you for your light. The candles so many of you lit for Andrew on the day of his bone marrow transplant were truly felt. There was a special feeling in his room when the nurses brought in the transplant, and that feeling remained for several hours. Thank you all so much.
We’ve had many emails asking about Andrew’s progress so I thought I would give you a condensed description of the process. The bone marrow is actually stem cells, harvested from a donor. The donor is given medication to stimulate these stem cells, and then they are taken simply through blood donation, much like giving a pint of blood. The stem cells are removed from the blood, and then transfused to the patient, that being Andrew. It is a strangely simple conclusion to a hugely complex process. In the end, a little bag holds Andrew’s future, suspended above his bed connected to his intravenous line. It took about 2 hours for the stem cells to be fully transfused. And now, we wait.
It will be many weeks before we know if it is 100% successful. The donor’s stem cells must replace Andrew’s immune system, and this takes time. He is sure to have some difficult days, and the inevitable effects of chemotherapy will soon begin to show. During the next 6-12 weeks, he will be in isolation, to protect him from infection and monitor his progress. So, as you can see, it is now a waiting game.
His doctors are very pleased with his progress to date, and he has done well with the drug therapy. But we do take it one day at a time. Yesterday was a good day; we’ll wait to see what today brings. One day at a time.
Some very dear friends of ours got together and bought a lovely new guitar for him, just before he went into hospital. He has that guitar with him, so he’s keeping his fingers nimble and writing a bit of music. He is strong in spirit and determined to get well. I know this strength and determination is accentuated by the support he is given, by all of us, and all of you. Please keep those candles burning.
With thanks from the depth of my heart,
Susan Hoover