I am presently in Moscow, where I have just had my MRI to check whether the HSCT treatment has worked or not. Of course, I could have got to my MRI done in the UK. But, as some readers might recall, there was quite a significant difference between the MRI scanner in Winchester, back in the UK, and the one that they used prior to my treatment in Moscow. When I had my last MRI done in the UK, I think sometime in February, it registered three lesions on my brain and spinal cord. However, when I had my MRI scan prior to my treatment in March, in Moscow, they found eleven lesions. This seems to be because the machine in Moscow is a 3 Tesla machine whilst the one back at home was a 1.5T machine. Being twice the resolution in Moscow, the machine found more lesions on my brain and spinal cord. As a result, it would be rather silly of me not to get a like-for-like comparison by using the same machine to compare my before and after results.
So here I am, in the Hotel Vega in Moscow, where I am staying two nights in order to get my MRI done and have a consultation with the doctor to discuss the results. I booked this through Anastasia, as per usual, and because the cost is about £500, you can pay by cash or by card whilst over here, so there is no trickery in having to sort out a complex currency payment as with the larger cost for the treatment as a whole.
The scan itself was the usual MRI affair. I pretty much fell asleep often on throughout the whole experience as the loud noises droned on and I haven't had too much sleep of late. Some people don't like MRI scans due to feelings of claustrophobic, but I don't mind at all. A nice bit of rest time!
My general feeling is that the treatment appears to have worked, at least from a subjective evaluation of my symptoms. All of my symptoms are to some degree better than they were before my treatment as you will have seen from my video updates. My major worry is that my workload is really quite stressful at the moment and I'm worried that this will have a negative impact upon my MS health. I have to say, being back at school has been a very challenging affair. It's just the nature of the job these days. It is no surprise that there is a huge teacher recruitment crisis in the UK presently.
But I am ever a realist and is I know that it's there is every chance that the brain scan could deliver results that will be a shock to my system. Even if I get the all-clear from the results, what this will mean is that my lesions are inactive and have been since my previous scan in Moscow. Whilst this tells you that the treatment has worked, the reality is that it means the treatment has worked up until now.
The reality of living with MS means that, even when things are going well, symptoms can raise their ugly head at any given time. It's the same with HSCT treatment; it is very difficult to predict, even when it works, how long it will work for. Of course, any length of time is better than no time at all. I am massively grateful for where I am at now compared to where I think I would have been had I not had the treatment.
So, fingers and toes crossed. Legs crossed. Everything crossed. Actually, that will not make the blindest bit of difference. They have my scan is now working to the system and I'm due back at the clinic at 3 PM this afternoon to get my results. Having had the scan at 9 o'clock this morning. More accurately, let's hope that the universe conspires to give me good news…
No comments:
Post a Comment