02.28.07
Posted in WM PDA Phone at 3:04 pm by emerym
One thing that’s kept me ammused over the last month is my new phone. I’ve got a Vodafone VPA Compact III aka HTC TyTN / Hermes. With a 2GB SanDisk microSD card installed it’s been a great all-round device.
It’s primary function has been an Ogg Vorbis music player, powered by Conduits Pocket Player , an application I’ve been using since my first HP Jornada 568. (If you want a free Ogg player check out GSPlayer). I’ve been able to relax to some music and not miss calls thanks to Pocket Players good phone integration. With it’s built in WiFi I’ve also had full access to my full CD collection thanks to streaming support from my SlimServer. It’s sure helped February pass faster.
I’ve been able to keep up with some world news thanks to David Andrs pRSSreader, though I wish someone had created a “Good News Only” RSS news feed. 
David’s Birthdays Today plugin is also worth getting.
With rlToday I’ve got world clocks on the Today screen so I’ll know what time it is in NY and HK when I return to the office. rlToday can also be used as an application launcher if you need to save some Today screen space.
cLaunch is a great tabbed application launcher, well worth checking out.
Marcel Tiews TodayAgenda is also a good plugin for showing a summary of appointments and tasks. It can also show Birthdays, but I prefer to show them under Davids app, so use both.
Magic Button by TranCreative is a must have application switcher/closer. Thanks to Wei Li for point it and MoDaCo out to me.
DotFred’s Task Manager v2.7 CPU Uage page has also been good for working out what’s slowing down the device at times.
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Posted in Health at 12:27 pm by emerym
A big thanks to everyone who wished me and my family well and kept in touch. A special thanks to James for the DVDs, and Wei Li for his Blog comments.
The Occupational Health team are due to call me soon to help plan my return to the office.
See you soon,
Mark
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Posted in Health at 11:51 am by emerym
When I first called in sick my team leader jokingly said I was a statistic. He explained it was the most likely day from someone to go sick, based on the number of days since something like Christmas or the New Year and other variables.
With the lab results back I’m glad to be labeled a statistic. Of all the people who have a biopsy for suspected lymphoma, only 1.5% are lucky enough to be told it’s Kikuchi-Fujimoto.
I’m glad it will be over soon, I can look forward to returning to work, have a holiday with my family and celebrate my 42nd birthday as planned. I must charge up my daughters camera so she can enjoy taking more holiday photos of her nutty father 
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02.27.07
Posted in Health at 8:12 pm by emerym
Blast, they can’t open the envelope.
I had another call from Mr Khawaja’s PA. She said that it’s not malignant. Good news! Unfortunately as she’s not a trained doctor or consultant she’s not allowed to say any more than that. Mr Khawaja is the on-call surgeon a Queen Mary’s Hospital today and was in surgery when his PA called. The night of my biopsy Mr K was working past midnight, so I won’t expect a call until the morning.
Roll on the last day of Feb!
Update PM: No need to wait any more, the final lab results are in! It is Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease. Now I just need to talk to Mr Khawaja and my GP to see what they think I should be doing next. From the paper my sister got on it I may just need to let it burn itself out.
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Posted in Health at 2:33 pm by emerym
Kukuchi-Fujimito is named after the two Japanese specialists that discovered the disease. As a result there are a number translations into our alphabet. It turns out Kikuchi-Fujimoto is the more popular spelling. Under this version of the name my sister managed to find more detailed papers. It’s also know as histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis.
Mr Khawaja’s PA called early this afternoon. As I’d already answered the phone to Wei Li at the office, my WM5 HTC TyTN phone popped up a notification alert and then hung! I couldn’t reboot it fast enough, though on calling her back there is still no word from the lab, she’s going to call again this evening.
My step son Laurence moved into a new flat and left a load of DVDs behind. The best so far have to be “Batman Begins” and “I-Robot”.
I think my wife’s in head-in-sand mode again, bless her. My mother in-law is selling her old flat, and my wife wonders if I can paint it for her and box in the pipes around the boiler. This weekend? What part of “rest up” don’t people understand? My mother in-law’s got an able bodied but DIY shy son of her own that could lift a finger to help.
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02.25.07
Posted in Health at 10:37 pm by emerym
With the swelling from the operation down I had a more restful nights sleep and I no longer feel like I’ve got a fat wallet in my empty left pocket. Dr Gillian McKeith was on the telly the night I had my biopsy. She’d put together a box of food for a lady suffering from arthritis and had included a pineapple, saying that it was natures best anti-inflammatory. That night I switched to drinking pineapple. Obviously I can’t say what I’d be like today if I hadn’t switched, but I’m sure it helped. I wish it helped reduce the problem with the remaining visibly enlarged lymph node. I also felt I had a little more energy, felling more with it until lunch time.
Changing the 3M Steri-Strip on the wound this morning I’d been able to check the wound up close. Using the Steri-Strips on such a wound is more work for the surgeon, as they have to work harder to put stitches in deeper into the wound. Very nice work though Mr Khawaja, Many Thanks!
A couple of things from a few days back that I’d not felt like adding at the time.
My sister said that she’d talked to medical staff from the army in the past. She asked them how they defined a healthy person. The response? “Someone who’s not had enough a tests yet”. If you dig enough you’ll find something wrong with everyone.
Children. They’re often much smarter and more in tune than we think and pick up on both the things you say and the things you don’t. My daughter derailed my previous train of thought with “If you don’t live your full life, who’ll do those [technical] things for mama?” It did make me think. How many people could my wife call on to support the little issues she has on the desktop, the Linux server and firewall setup we’ve got, do a restore, etc? Even if my problem is nothing more than Kukuchi-Fujimito, It’s time to get RAID in the setup and do a load of docs!
Another day closer to getting the call from Mr Khawaja’s PA to say the final lab results are in.. Tick Tick Tick.
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02.24.07
Posted in Health at 12:30 pm by emerym
I’ve picked up on a lot of messages in songs over the last few days. I should have kept notes Here’s one of my favorites, which comes from a track by CityRockers used in my favorite film, “Layer Cake”.
“Don’t think about all the things you fear, just be glad to be here.”
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Posted in Health at 1:16 am by emerym
I’ve had another meeting with Mr Khawaja tonight. It started with him telling my wife and I that he had some great news, and that we should go home and open a bottle of wine! It isn’t looking like lymphoma, and we can be cautiously optimistic.. YES!
After all of the smiles and comments he then added that they’re only 2 days into the tests, but they’d not found signs of cancer, yet. I’d expected detecting cancer under the microscope to be much more black and white. Nuts, still not out of the woods 
Even still, it’s left us both feeling a little better.
Some more blood tests are back and as a result he’s asked the lab to look at the rare Kukuchi-Fujimito disease. Based on the tests done so far there is a chance that it’s the cause as one end is matching. He explains that steroids or antibiotics can’t be given yet, as they could do more harm than good if they’re not sure of the cause. The other reason for the appointment is to do a change of dressing. Having had knee surgery years ago that left long ugly scars I must say Mr Khawaja does very neat work! There’s an incision just short of 2 inches long, but the scaring will be minimal, with no external stitches.
It turns out the problems with the CT scan paper work and CD ROM are all down to the imaging team at the Blackheath hospital. Burning another two CDs, CD1 was okay, CD2? Blank again! I need to say hello and give them some pointers if I’m ever in Blackheath again.
We see my sister Karen on the way home for a drink and chat, and Goggle for Kukuchi-Fujimito disease, finding the full paper after a minimal searching. It impacts the lymph nodes and causes flu like symptoms. She warns me not to crack open the champaign just yet, it’s too early.
So here I am, “Cautiously Optimistic”, resting up until I get the word from Mr Khawaja’s PA that the final results are in, which may be another 2 to 3 days.
Tick Tick Tick …
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02.23.07
Posted in Health at 9:36 am by admin
Friday 23rd Feb – AM - This day is going to drag more than any other.. I’ve watched all of the Life on Mars I have on my MythTV box. With a bit of luck it’s recorded Battlestar Galactica last night. I wish I’d been able to get my FTP server working as James has the first episode I’d missed.
I had another bad nights sleep with my temperature climbing. I’m also getting worried that the consultant didn’t give me a copy of the radiographers report. Mr Gill was keen to share info, but I’m worried Mr Khawaja is not. I had to push for the CD and he made a point of stressing that I’d need to hold onto it and take it with me if I went to any specialist or GP in the future. Am I just being paranoid or is he holding something back? The CDROM was blank. Mr Khawaja gave me a copy of the letter to Mr Gill and my GP, but it only had info leading up to the CT scan, it was all old news to me.
My wife asks me to stop reading things on the Internet. Hmmph. She wants me to adopt her ‘head in the sand’ mode, but I know she’s been doing her own reading as last night she tells me about children getting lymphoma! I know she’d rather not know about any complaints she has. I’d rather know what I’m up against so if I need to fight something I have a better chance of winning.
Early PM - Just got off the phone to my sister who called to see how I was. She tells me to ignore any issues with paper work and the CD, Mr Khawaja must be overworked and he’s letting the paper work slip slightly in order to focus on patient care. Lets hope so, I’m as nervous as hell. She’s also given me the name and number of someone she’s worked with who’s 9 years clear from lymphoma. He’s happy to meet up for a beer and a chat, and is by all accounts a real nice bloke. My support network’s growing She also recommends I check out www.lymphoma.org.uk/support/
I’ll update this post in the evening when I get back from the hospital.
Fingers crossed….
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02.22.07
Posted in Health at 8:13 pm by admin
I’ve not kept a diary before, I’ve never felt the need. But things can change in a moment.
29th Jan 2007 – I went down with what I though was Flu. I had all the symptoms. I then got sinusitis and a chest infection. I visited my GP on the 9th Feb to get the note for the office and expected to go back to work on the 12th.
Sunday 11th Feb – I was about to have a shower and spotted a lump on my leg near my groin. Had I not been standing fully upright I may have missed it as I can’t see it clearly when the skin isn’t taught and it didn’t hurt. I went to see the EMDOC at the local hospital who did a few checks and told me to see my GP ASAP.
Monday 12th Feb – My GP doesn’t think it’s a hernia and wants me to see a specialist. As the lump seems to be attached to the upper thigh muscle and I’ve got private medial cover with Allianz (Great people, well worth the money) I get referred to a Mr Paul Gill at the Sloane Hospital in Bromley.
Tuesday 13th Feb – Mr Gill examins me and books me in for a MRI scan, something that both the EMDOC and GP had mentioned. MRI scan’s cost a bit, so having good cover helps a lot.
Thursday 15th Feb – At the Sloane Hospital I get my first MRI scan. I’m at the hospital for ~ 1 hour. The images show the lump very clearly (One lymph node alone is 4.5cm x 2.5cm x 2.5cm) but Dr Kumar the Consultant Radiologist needs more contrast in a few images so I return in the afternoon for a 15min session. As this is all being paid for by insurance I get a copy of the images and software to read them on a CDROM. I makes for interesting viewing.
Friday 16th Feb – Early PM – I see Mr Gill again re the results from the MRI scan. As it’s a lympth nodes and Mr Gill is an orthopaedic and knee surgeon he refers me to Mr Hamid Khawaja at Chelsfield Park Hospital.
Friday 16th Feb – Late PM - That evening I see Mr Khawaja at Chelsfield Park Hospital. While talking to Mr Khawaja I mention another complaint that’s gone unresolved for years – constant tiredness, or what I now know is chronic fatigue. Something that I should have pushed the doctors about more in the past. (In the past one GP in London put it down to depression and wanted me to take tablets. We all make mistakes.) He arranges for more blood tests, this time focusing on some viral issues that the GPs may have not considered. He also wants me to have a staging CT scan.
Saturday 17th Feb – I’m back at Chelsfield Park Hospital for more blood tests. I couldn’t do it the night before as the lab needs the samples right away and was closed when I’d seen Mr Khawaja.
Sunday 18th Feb – Not much on today, I just have to call Allianz when it’s office reopens at 18:00 to let them know about the 3 part CT scan.
Monday 19th Feb – I’m back at Blackheath Hospital for my CT scan. I was expecting a 3 part scan and learn that they’re doing a 4 part scan: Neck, chest, abdomen, and pelvis. This worries me for a bit, but later it all makes sense. A 3 part scan costs £810. The hospital will only charge for the 3 but do 4. The contrast injection costs £136. The contrast injection isn’t pleasant as it makes your whole body feel very hot, but thankfully only lasts for a couple of minutes. People wouldn’t take kindly to being called back for another, so the 3 became 4 to ensure all bases were covered.
Tuesday 20thFeb - PM – I’m seeing Mr Khawaja again at Blackheath. The CT scan results are not good. The lymph nodes in the rest of my body are in a mess. He suspects it’s lymphoma, but says only a biopsy will tell him for sure. There’s also another problem, somethings looking “moth eaten” but my minds racing and I don’t take in all the details. I’m going to need everything in writing from now on… Mr Khawaja adds me to his already full operations schedule for the evening.
Tuesday 20th Feb – Late PM – As it can be done under local I push for it. I had a little discomfort during the op, but it went well, Mr Khawaja has a great team supporting him. He removes one of two large nodes, it’s the size of half a shelled wallnut.
One of my two sisters is Dr Karen Lowton, Senior Lecturer in Ageing & Health and MSc Programmes Director at Institute of Gerontology, King’s College London. She’s spent years talking to people about palliative care, so knows what she’s talking about. She has some great contacts and reasuring words about the advances in cancer research thanks in part due to the great work of Cancer Research UK
Wednesday 21st Feb – I’m at Blackheath still, having taken the recommendation to stay in over night. Despite great beds I didn’t get much sleep. I’m quite sore but the pains gone. My wife Denise picks me up just before lunch.
Thursday 22nd Feb – Waiting and feeling knackered. This is the worst part of it all. Is it lymphoma or the result of a viral infection? Only one of the blood tests had come back so far, it was clear. If lymphoma which of the many types?
Throughout this whole thing my manager has been extremely supportive. I’ve got contacts in the GS Critical Health team to call on for information, and they’re keeping an eye on my situation.
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