~ Poems of Love ~

The following poems have been written by me, for my husband Hamada, who suffered from Multiple Myeloma [IgG Kappa] a cancer of the plasma cells, which are found in the bone marrow. After many months of chemotherapy, contracting pneumonia twice, once given only twelve hours to live and having three bad fractures to his spine and also showing in his Pelvis, he made it to four years seven months. The Multiple Myeloma attacked his Kidneys first showing at diagnosis in May 2006 leaving Hamada only a small percentage of kidney function. He never complained, using his most amazing smile even when I knew he had severe pain. Hamada underwent a Stem Cell Transplant using his own 'harvested stem cells' . During October 2007 he spent seventeen days in the "Centre For Clinical Haematology" at Nottingham City Hospital UK. where he achieved this transplant. We had a scare at six months after transplant, when told 'the beast was back' but subsequent tests showed a partial remission. Again in early 2009 it was confirmed that Hamada was out of remission He fought again during 2010 with newer chemo type drugs. First with Velcade and then with Revlimid but to no avail. His Kidneys were failing further and Hamada chose not to have dialysis. This blog contains poems and updates, written for Hamada, telling of our life together.
Now a beautiful book has been published, see http://www.susiehemingway.com/books/
showing Hamada's personal fight against Multiple Myeloma in the first fifty 'poems of love' written by me his wife. I hope you like these poems of love and also 'our story' dedicated to Hamada, who passed away peacefully at home on 23 November 2010 after a most courageous fight against Multiple Myeloma.

19 March, 2008

Further Update

It has been a challenging time since Hamada returned from Lincoln Hospital and a slow recovery once again from his second bout with pneumonia. He has been extremely weak and suffering with anaemia which is common in Myeloma. Hamada's kidneys are unable to produce a special growth factor, known as erythropoietin, this stimulates the bone marrow to make red blood cells. He has a weekly injection to help with that. He is constantly tired but makes a tremendous effort to get up for longer periods each day. He has now had another bone marrow aspirate which involves inserting a fine needle into the bone marrow space at the back of the hip bone under local anaesthetic, and they aspirate/ suck out a few bone marrow cells to stain and view under a microscope. We wait now for ten days for the results once again.

The following is an extract from a wonderful poem written by Arthur Hugh Clough and brought to my attention by dear friends who live in our village, it is a wonderful poem of courage and hope, in the face of diversity and for folk who struggle daily, it is I believe a must to read.

Last two verses from - Say Not The Struggle Naught Availeth.

For while the tired waves, vainly breaking,
Seem here no painful inch to gain,
Far back, through creeks and inlets making,
Comes silent, flooding in, the main.

And not by eastern windows only,
When daylight comes, comes in the light;
In front the sun climbs slow, how slowly!
But westward, look, the land is bright !

~

2 comments:

Susie Hemingway said...

Thanks from Hamada for all the recent get well cards and from the many calls during the last two weeks from family in Alexandria - Hamada sends his love to you all x

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