...and the plot thickens!!!

Hey everyone! How u doin'? I'm ok, a bit tired. The counts are dropping which makes me tired, plus all the other extras on the side... ya3ni, hamdilla, but it ain't so easy! I was so tired late last night, that I fainted in the toilet!!! It was only for a couple of seconds, but poor Wiss had the scare of his life. My blood pressure had dropped... mashi el 7al.
Today, I lay low a bit, watched a bit of TV, slept some... but also managed to get a platelet transfusion and a bit of a fever after that, which made the doctors start me on antibiotics! Yalla, a7san, this way I'm well protected.
Today was chicken soup day, and yest was carrot and potato. I also discovered that I could drink milkshake, so I had a choc one yest and a strawberry one today. Not bad!
Tayyeb, yalla, I'm off to bed.
later dudes!
xxx
hala

Speak to me not of food!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh nausea, heartburn, diarrhea, cramps... yummy!
Sorry didn't write last night (obviously for the above reasons!) I hope I didn't scare or disappoint some of you regulars. It's gonna be like this for about a couple of weeks now, so don't get impatient on me now. The symptoms will probably get worse this week, so I might not even write at all for a few days. It's all fine as long as there is medication for the pain. I had a rough weekend bec it had taken them some time to regulated the dosage of the meds. Hope it works well from now on.
The white counts are quite low today: 400 but hamdillah I don't feel it. Plus, the fact that there is no isolation or masks or anything required here makes it much easier. We just have to make sure noone with the flu comes over to visit!
Lara came over from Paris, or should I say Mama Noel? She brought tons of stuff from Beirut, including drawings by my daughters, habibati. I decorated the room with them and printed out some pix too and hung them on the walls. I'll take pictures and post them soon.
Right now, amid cramps, I am waiting for Food Poker to come on. At least some routine in my life!
Bye for now, perhaps I'll write again later tonight.
Awaiting your comments,
mwah,
H

Cyba's shorbet 3adas!

Were it not for Cyba's lentil soup, I would have had nothing to eat all day today. It turns out their food is inedible, esp so if one is feeling nauseated, which was the case all day today! Nausea, diarrhea and a bit of a cold and a slight cough didn't make this a very pleasant day, although Meena came over today. We playes Scrabble and did some crossword puzzles and then watched HAIRSPRAY! Fun movie; John Travolta is hilarious in it.
Ok guys, sorry I g2g. Extremely tired now. a demain inshallah.
mwah
hala

...and it begins!

The waiting, that is. Oh and the ugly side effects! Not much excitement today. It's a good thing actually, cuz that means things went smoothly, and they did, hamdillah.
Just a lot of hanging around in the room, watching tv, doing crosswords, reading the paper, refusing the incredible food AND going to the toilet!!! My body aches a bit, but they said it was normal. meanwhile, I am taking advantage of that, asking Wisso to massage me every now and then!
So, basically, it's all waiting from now on. Hope I don't get a lot of ugly sides with the waiting! The counts are still high, so I am guessing it may be a long wait. It's like my body refuses to give in. Tough cookie tougher than we thought. Well, no time for abadayat now. I need to be weak to be strong again! Inshallah kheir.

Thank u all for ur lovely comments and ur constant prayers.
love u tons,
a demain, inshallah,
H

D-day!!!

D-day! Yay! Hurray! It's done. I am officially a new Fadi! Hamdilla, it went very smoothly, just like a blood transfusion, plus all the hype! Everybody (except me) was so nervous and anxious. So, i kept looking at the trio and making sounds as if sth was wrong! haram, they bought it and got so scared for a second, it was hilarious! Then i started behaving and talking like fadi to break more ice. it was fun!

now they say it'll be a few more boring days before the action starts kicking in. hope it comes and goes smoothly. it will be a good 3 weeks till i'm up and running and allowed to go back home, so bear with me and keep me entertained!!!

love u all tons. tks 4 ur thoughts n prayers. i am v sleepy, so g'night 4 now.
catch u tomoro
xxx
hala

Hurrah For Fadi!!!

Day -1, The harvest went super well, thank God. The cells Fadi gave were more than enough, and a very very good count, so no need for more tomorrow. Hamdillah, yet another piece of super news! And he feels good too! He went to Marks and treated himself to a crispy duck dinner!
As for moi, well, today's been easy too, thank God. I had 2 radiation sessions and started cyclosporin, a medicine i have to take twice daily to protect me from the BMT. The only irritating thing that happened to me today was an inhalation medicine they gave me to protect my lungs from infection, God forbid. It tastes horrible and dries your mouth. Thank God it's only once a month.
We had a little dancing session this afternoon in the room. Yours truly was so bored that I started dancing to Nelly Fortado's 'Give it ti me' as soon as I heard it off Cyba's phone. The trio (Cyba, Fadi and Wiss) took videos of me on their phones! I will try to see if there's a decent one to put here!!!
So, tomoro Day 0, D-Day!!! I am not that worried about it. I dunno why people r giving it so much importance. maybe cuz IT IS???!!! Well, i want to think of it as if it's any other procedure, and then live it one day at a time... let's just hope my body accepts the cells. it'll be a while b4 we know so hold ur horses, it's a long ride.
i am still waiting 4 you to add my new yahoo messenger name: halabeydoun@yahoo.com
i cannot add u. i've lost all the addresses with the stupid msn that is blocked here.

ok, i'm gonna head to bed. long day today and longer tomorrow.
pls people, this is it, this is the time for ur love, support and prayers.
think of me tomorrow, and i will right and tell u how it went.

'night
mwah
hala

Careful! I am radioactive!!!

Honest, Cyba told me that whenever I come close to a TV, static comes on! hehe! Good thing the girls aren't near.
Well, day -2, surprisingly better than day -3, thank God! I guess He's answered all those prayers (thanks to u all and esp to Him!). So, 2 radiation sessions, and a potassium injection in the middle. not too bad for a day. The thirst is much better, tks for all ur tips. I had to stick to water and sucking lemon candy, though, cuz I was too cold to even think of coming near ice lollies or cubes! I am not in Hawaii, guys! remember this is freezing Sutton. Oh and Fawzan and Rima, not to worry, I don't like Gatorade and don't think they'll get me any here anyway, so u 2 can stop fighting over it online!!! (love u guys!)
An old high school friend came to visit me this evening. Wissam Yafi. It was so sweet of him to come. We had a good time catching up. quite a few people said they would be visiting. I hope they make it before I am absolutely knackered! or after that. i have to be here for a long time after i leave hospital, and i will have nothing much to do except come to the hospital once a week or so, so we would be more than happy to accomodate friends! yalla get ur visas going.

oh, btw, the frickin msn in this hospital doesn't seem to be working, so pls add my new yahoo messenger address:halabeydoun@yahoo.com U don't need to have a yahoo account, u can do it from msn messenger.

yalla a demain,
need to go sleep,
big day for fadi tomoro, he starts his harvesting. he has to stay on the machine for four hours. so good luck fadi. love u tons. mwah.
H