It all began with my younger brother last December (2025). He had been feeling fatigued and having pain in his hands and feet for some time so decided to go to his doctor and request a blood test to see if he had long-Covid or something. On his way to London to pick his wife up from Heathrow he got a phone call from his surgery with the results - get yourself to a hospital asap. Thinking this a bit unnecessary, he continued to Heathrow, picked up his wife and received another call, this time from his actual doctor - are you at a hospital yet? No. Call an ambulance then. Deciding something serious was going on, he called in at a local hospital in London and they ran some tests. Stage 5 kidney failure. eGFR of 5. Cause? Multiple Myeloma. Cancer of the blood basically. Didn’t leave hospital for 9 weeks, what with catheter infections, hospital superbugs, collapsed immune system and all. He’s in remission as I speak, but it has been a very steep uphill journey for him. He’s done fantastically well. One day at a time, resolved, face to the front attitude.
My wife said get tested for it. Could be familial. So in March 2026 I got tested for Myeloma. No Myeloma, but non-visual blood in two separate urine tests. Referred to local hospital for a cystoscopy to investigate. Willy Wonka’s Nemesis was patiently waiting in the wings ready to take centre stage.
