Taking steps

Its been another few encouraging days. My sleep pattern has changed dramatically so that I can now pretty much sleep a normal night through and wake up refreshed. Since it changed I haven't yet really needed a nap in the afternoon either, which is also really great.

Coming off antibiotics seems to have been successful so far (touch wood). I've got two 7-day courses of the drug stashed away in case I start feeling a bit infected, but there's been no need so far. My digestive system's been a little confused by the whole process - little bit of discomfort there, but I'm sure that will settle down when the so called 'friendly bacteria' get stuck in!

I phoned School today to discuss going back to work. Of course its a little difficult for them as they've taken on a teacher from December to cover my timetable and she's only just getting settled in. I think she's contracted until Easter, so its potentially a bit tricky getting me back involved completely until that point, but the Deputy Head's promised to have a bit of a think and see what they can work out. With a bit of luck I'll be back pretty much on my normal timetable after Easter.

Lastly, but by no means least, I'm really getting back into the swing of the dancing. I managed two training sessions last week with no real problem, as well as two lessons. All the teachers are continuing to be impressed with our progress, and Sharon and I are feeling very positive about it all. We've even pencilled in a possible dance competition in February, fingers crossed.

So life is good at the moment. I am really loving my new car - loads of gadgets and gismos in it, and an absolute joy to drive. Its also really nice to be based back in Streatham for a while and just feel quite independent again. Fingers crossed everything carries on like this for a very long time...

Great news

I haven't blogged for a while now, as you've probably noticed. This is mostly because of how much better I've been feeling. The sleeping isn't under control but other energy levels continue to improve, and my weight is verging back on my normal skinny self rather than gaunt-and-ill me from last month.

I had a great meeting with my specialist this morning. Firstly and most importantly he reassured me hugely about the statistics for transplants. Apparently even pessimistically my chances of living beyond 10 years after the transplant are above 85%, and probably better. Also he said that the general health-risks pre-transplant and post-transplant risks are at a pretty similar level, so there's no particular need to rush into the operation itself. He's seeing me in 2 and 4 months time. At the second meeting we will decide whether I should still remain on the transplant waiting list. If I stay as I am now, or better, then we'll probably go for coming off the list, but he's happy to just wait and see for the moment.

Other good news is that he thinks I can probably come off daily antibiotics shortly. That will be fantastic - can't wait for my poor immune and digestive systems to have a bit of a breather!

So after a really enjoyable new year, some more really enjoyable and quite full-on dance training, and having just bought a nice new car (well, nice second-hand car) with lots of gismos in it, I'm feeling pretty positive.

The last hurdle before near-normality is this sleep nuisance. I'm going to try some dear old phenegan (stuff they give to kids to help them sleep sometimes), on the recommendation of my consultant, and hopefully that'll tip the balance so that I can get to sleep at a normal time and wake up feeling relatively refreshed at a reasonable time in the morning.

If so, then watch out pupils of Camden, I'll be coming back to haunt you, I hope!