Happy Birthday, Dad!

Dad's birthday today...so took the children over to visit him - and tire him out! Amy had been briefed beforehand NOT to tell grandad what was in his present before he opened it...so as he took it out of the bag she whispered 'its gardening gloves, grandad'!!! Dad was in good spirits although he does find that he tires quickly so has a couple of naps a day as needed. He has realised that 'pushing on' does him no good so he is now listening to his body and resting as and when. One of the reasons for this is that his haemoglobin levels are still pretty low, though his neutrophils have shot up this last week from 0.75 to 3.2! Yesteray he had a trip to Cambridge to have a chat to the docs about bone marrow transplant. Basically his docs have put him forward to see if there's a possibility he would be able to have it, and to give him all the facts, black and white so he could make a decision about whether this is a road he would like to go down. And give it to him in black and white they did!! I think he was a bit shocked at being told there was a 20% chance of dying while undergoing a BMT along with some other fairly scarey facts about side effects & possibility of rejection etc. He was also made aware of the fact that obviously age isn't on his side which could further limit the possibility of success. Also, as dad is an only chold he has no brothers or sisters who would be the most likely starting point for a match. He came away with a lot information to take in. I think he may have decided he doesn't want to go down that route as it would mean him being further away from us all and restrict his family time...and could also make him more poorly. Anyway, it's his decision to make and although we all obviously want the best chance for dad to be cured, we will understand and support him whatever he choses to do. I would be very interested if anyone has any info they can give me re. bone marrow transplants, or if anyone has experience of going through a bone marrow transplant?? Thanx