Day +50 (and +47 to +49): Treatment by numbers

1  readmission to hospital since discharge following stem cell transplant (average is apparently three in first year post-transplant)

2  times as bushy: my eyebrows seem to have thickened dramatically; fine hair has also appeared on the bottom of my nose, my ears and, to a lesser extent, the rest of my head. I’m not sure why…

3  consultants involved in my treatment: my ‘original’ leukaemia consultant (Dr Willis) and two specialist transplant consultants (Dr Klammer and Dr Koh)

4  British nephews and nieces I can’t wait to see when I’m at less vulnerable to infections carried by small children: Peter, Ben, Innes and Matilda

5  tubes in which my blood is collected each time to send off for analysis when I go into St George’s twice a week

6  years since I ended all my treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia the first time around (February 2008)

7  months since my relapse diagnosis (17 October 2013) and the installation of my Hickman line, which so far is still going strong

8  different medicines I’m on and off at the moment (aciclovir, omeprazole, itraconazole, septrin, prednisolone, magnesium, potassium, domperidone)

999 called once during my treatment, when I was dashed into St George’s A&E after feeling faint and almost collapsing towards the end of the MARALL trial

10  /10 HLA (Human leukocyte antigen) match between me and my stem cell donor, found by Anthony Nolan

12  million stem cells garnered from my donor, of which 10 million were given to me and 2 million put in storage in case of future need

17  of a possible 21 points gained by Pompey from the date of my transplant, having collected three from a possible 18 in the run-up to Day Zero

50  days since transplant; halfway to the Day +100 milestone (and erm, bone marrow biopsy – ouch)

100  percent of my blood cells created from my donor bone marrow, according to the most recent chimerism test!