Jim - Interview 21

Jim was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia after feeling tired on exertion. He spent 35 days in hospital having intensive chemotherapy followed by outpatient chemotherapy. He is in remission but his treatment will continue for another 2.5 years.
Jim is a video game designer. He is cohabiting with his partner and has no children. Ethnic background: White British.
More about me...
Jim started feeling tired on doing physical activity and assumed he was unfit. Then he wondered if he had a perforated lung. He went to his GP who sent him for a blood test. He returned to the hospital the next day for more tests. He was told he had leukaemia and would be kept in and moved to a specialist centre as soon as a bed became available. He was allowed home to pick up some belongings where he told his girlfriend the diagnosis.
Jim wore a hat in winter to cover his hair loss; at other times he went bare-headed; he gradually got used to it and it didn't bother him much.

Jim wore a hat in winter to cover his hair loss; at other times he went bare-headed; he gradually got used to it and it didn't bother him much.
Jim had severe headache for days after each lumbar puncture. The problem was eventually referred to an anaesthetist who recommended using a smaller needle and a steroid injection, which worked.

Jim had severe headache for days after each lumbar puncture. The problem was eventually referred to an anaesthetist who recommended using a smaller needle and a steroid injection, which worked.
After I was let out of hospital which, I am going to continue to have these procedures every several weeks for a couple of years, so you have to kind of get used to them. It was about seven days after I’d had the procedure I started getting these headaches and they’re really bad, and it got to the point where even if I was lying down it was terrible. And so I admitted myself to my local hospital, not the one I had the chemotherapy in, saw various people, ended up going back to the main hospital just with this problem of these headaches. And the answer, which was not given by anyone on my team, they did a referral to a consultant anaesthetist who does hundreds of these spinal taps mostly for pregnant women, I believe. And the answer was to use as small a needle as possible. The paediatric sized needle rather than, there’s only very, very, very, very, very tiny difference, and to give me some dexamethasone, which is a steroid, just intravenously, and it reduces swelling. And since I’ve been using the smaller needle and the dexamethasone and taking extra care not to do any bending or heavy lifting for about two weeks after the procedure, I haven’t had these headaches at all, which has been a godsend because if I had them every time my life would be a lot more miserable because other than that I feel fine.
Jim had a central line fitted in his arm, which he says was the nicest way to have toxic drugs put into your system. It was comfortable and not unsightly but he had to wear an arm band in the shower.

Jim had a central line fitted in his arm, which he says was the nicest way to have toxic drugs put into your system. It was comfortable and not unsightly but he had to wear an arm band in the shower.
Jim was always scared of catching infections - he says don't be afraid to tell the nurses if you think their hygiene precautions aren't good enough.

Jim was always scared of catching infections - he says don't be afraid to tell the nurses if you think their hygiene precautions aren't good enough.
Jim expected steroids to keep him awake but they didn't; his appetite increased so much that he ate two meals each mealtime without gaining weight.

Jim expected steroids to keep him awake but they didn't; his appetite increased so much that he ate two meals each mealtime without gaining weight.
Jim's hair fell out a couple of weeks after starting treatment; he used a sticky roller to pick up hair from around his room.

Jim's hair fell out a couple of weeks after starting treatment; he used a sticky roller to pick up hair from around his room.
Having just been told he had leukaemia and no immune system, Jim was stressed by having to leave his hygienic isolation room to go to a dirty room elsewhere in the hospital to bank his sperm.

Having just been told he had leukaemia and no immune system, Jim was stressed by having to leave his hygienic isolation room to go to a dirty room elsewhere in the hospital to bank his sperm.
In Jim's experience the NHS was not interested in giving specific dietary advice but he...In Jim's experience the NHS was not interested in giving specific dietary advice but he considered it worth investigating himself to be as healthy as possible.

In Jim's experience the NHS was not interested in giving specific dietary advice but he...In Jim's experience the NHS was not interested in giving specific dietary advice but he considered it worth investigating himself to be as healthy as possible.
Throughout his 35 days in hospital Jim had either his girlfriend or his mother stay overnight on a sofa in his room, which he found a comfort. They also brought him fresh fruit and vegetables.
