Today I had my first treatment for the iron overload I mentioned in my last post (back in January). The procedure is called venesection. They just take a pint of blood, and throw it away! It is quite shocking really (well, mildly shocking anyway). The blood flows into a bag, and the bag is thrown in the bin!
I have arranged to have the treatment at my local hospital, rather than going to UCH in London. The hospital building dates from the '60s, and is no longer "viable" (whatever that means) - they are going to tear it down soon. The contrast between this hospital and the brand new cancer center at UCH is quite stark. However, the nurses were very efficient and friendly, so the procedure was very pleasant (even though the needle to extract this much blood was much larger than for a blood test sample).
I attended the BMT clinic at the end of April, but the visit was unremarkable so I did not post an entry here. I am attending this clinic every three months, and I expect this to extend to six months or yearly very soon. My next milestone is my second birthday (June 23rd).
