Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Quality Time!

Hiya all, well we had lovely family christmas very quiet but just what the Dr ordered! My white cell counts continued to climb and touch wood thus far no infections!! We have all been under preventing infection precautions which are lessening as the weeks go by we have even started to eat out a little.
At the moment i am not working as i exhausted all my sick leave, i am using this time to recuperate, i am hoping to return to work part time sometime in the near future. I am spending my time going to hand therapy, cooking and spending quality time with all of my Boys!!
My hair growth is slow but sure, it has not been too bad wearing scarves they certainly keep your head warm in the winter. What winter i hear you guys cry in the UK but it gets cold to us here when its winter and in the fifties.Brrr! I can walk around the house without frightening the boys if i don't have a scarf on, Craig says i have Sinead O'connor look but it's not quite long enough to not wear anything outside of the house.
I met with Lisa my sclero twin who is doing really well, she's had quite the battle but has the strength and determination to recover from her complications, what a trooper!! She said to me that Dr Burt has saved her life she's going to get stronger and stronger! My sentiments exactly.
My mom comes back out in March with my sister and niece to see that i am doing ok and help celebrate my 40th birthday, oh my gosh!! I am looking forward to seeing them don't know how Craig will cope with four women in the house!
See ya Shaz x

About Me

I work as an RN in Endoscopy at John C. Lincoln Hospital and in 2006 I was diagnosed with Systemic Scleroderma, a condition that has no known treatment and was always symptom management. After doing some research, I discovered Dr. Burt, a doctor in Chicago who is pioneering the use of stem cell transplant to treat Scleroderma. This process uses my own stem cells - taken from me, cleaned, and then re-introduced back into my body, so that it will no longer recognize the Scleroderma. This is a very basic summary of a complex procedure. Systemic Scleroderma has a very poor prognosis and with my symptoms worsening I feel that this is my only chance at getting treatment and reversing my symptoms. I have worked for 6 years at JCL, Deer Valley and hope to continue there with excellence. I wish to continue be a good mother to my 2 boys, a good wife to my wonderful husband, and maybe one day be a good grandmother.