Darren Update 5

I feel rather ashamed that i have neglected Darren's updates for so long. The end of June is a long time ago and a lot has happened since then.
Since the last update, Darren has remained a patient at the RUH in Bath. During this time his partner Linda has moved to Birmingham (their relationship has improved) and preparations have been made for his bone marrow transplant (BMT) at Bristol's BRI, where i had my surgery. But not everything has gone according to plan.

Because Darren's immune system has been knocked out by successive rounds of chemotherapy, infections have been a constant threat, and sadly he's picked up a few, which have pushed back the start of his BMT.

In July, Darren had the opportunity to have a weekend out of hospital with Linda, before she moved up North. A few of us at church were able to organise him a lovely B&B in Bath, a romantic dinner by the river etc and he had a wonderful time. Over the weekend however, he and Linda had walked their feet off and a resulting blister on Darren's foot became infected.

During the following weeks his foot became so massively swollen, painful and septic, that he needed a couple of operations and there was even talk of him losing his foot. I've seen pictures and they were not nice. All this because his body's natural defences were down.
It took a while for Darren's health to recover from this infection, but it was followed by two more, one in his lungs and another in his Hickman Line, a tube stitched into his chest through which his chemotherapy drugs are administered.

Throughout most of this time, Darren has been quite low. I can't blame him at all. 21 days at the BRI was long enough for me. But Darren has been at the RUH for over 5 months and has become institutionalised. A small group of friends and family have been visiting him during this time. But as i've discovered throughout my treatment, there are stretches of the journey that seem very lonely and i don't envy him those times at all.

Managing his blood and immunity levels has been a tricky business for the staff at the RUH, but it seems that his infections are under control and his BMT start date is getting closer.

As i write this, Darren is out of hospital again. He has been given a bit of freedom before the BMT, which will be starting in 4 weeks time. He doesn't have an address outside the hospital, so as a church we have put him up in a flat for the 4 weeks he is out. A good friend has coordinated church donations to furnish the flat and Darren is being given financial support and free meals at our church cafe during this time.

Please pray for him, that he can relax and gather his strength for the BMT, which will be 6 weeks of painful treatment. Pray for us (collectively), that we'll know how best to support Darren, practically and emotionally. It hasn't been easy for Claudia and me to maintain regular visits with him since my surgery and we need to be realistic in terms of what we can offer during my recovery. My hope is that he can form some strong friendships during this time, that will provide him with all the support he needs during his BMT and afterwards as he rebuilds his life (again).