Back to blogging

Me, my Sister & Donor Doreen (Middle) and my Wife Linda at Kigali International Airport on Monday, January 18,2016 on our way to Bangalore, India. https://www.facebook.com/edmund.kagire

So here I'am, once again attempting my life on blogging but only this time, I promise to be more consistent, simple and straight to the point.

Well, the reason I have set up this blog is not only to chronicle my journey fighting cancer but also to share my story with you out there, and perhaps try to demystify the whole 'fear' around the deadly disease cancer is. Today it is me, tomorrow it could be you or a loved one. 

Through this blog I hope to encourage other people out there facing the same fate and also 'push' myself to pull through this tough period.

The decision to start this blog has been a tough one. See, I had promised myself to detail every step of this journey in what would later metamorphose into a book.  But along the way, I, after a few pages on the computer and several scribbled papers, gave up on the whole project.

"What if I don't make it through?" the dreaded question that always haunted me every time I tried to add a paragraph or two. The same question led to many more questions. "Do I even need to write my story? Or should I cross the bridge when I get there? Is anyone interested in my story anyway?". These and many more questions popped up in my head.

In the course of pondering if I should carry on with the writing or not, I underwent two procedures medically known as TACE-Trans Arterial Chemo-embolisation, that was in October and November 2015. The operations left me in too much pain and I was totally disenchanted. There was nothing to life.

I temporarily dropped the project. I could not sit on the computer and later on be able to tell what I was going through at the time. The pain was excruciating, my appetite was terribly low and my weight was spiraling at a rate I could not comprehend. As the tumour on the liver underwent Necrosis, the pain became much more unbearable.

There was no need to write down anything, later on feel the courage to do anything-you know that bad feeling that chemotherapy gives you. You probably don't have the guts to do anything. All you want is that feeling to go away, regain your appetite and be able to lead a normal life, which at the moment feels like a dream.

To cut the whole story short, I could not carry on then with writing. Even as I tried to recompose my now seemingly miserable life, the news of the transplant came in and I needed to get a donor as soon as possible. 

It also meant that I temporarily return home to begin the donor identification process. Basically things were moving at a pace that did not allow me to put pen to paper. I was kind of overwhelmed.

A lot happened in between-we returned home in December, reunited with Leona & Laura, enjoyed the festive season with our families and I started the donor process. Suddenly life was coming back to normal and the earlier procedures had effectively controlled the tumour and the cancer.

My sisters, Doreen, Fiona, Phyllis Enid and baby cousin sister Pamela turned up for the screening process. Amazing! Even the Doctors told me. I was not going to die soon with all these people willing to give me part of their livers. As it was, Doreen (See pic above) was singled out to be the one to save my life.

In no time we pursued the documents, got all of them and got the blessings from family. On Monday, January 18, 2016, we set off for Bangalore, India to begin the process that will lead up to the life saving liver transplantation. My sister Doreen will part with one third of her liver which will be given to me (mine will be removed) and my wife Linda is here to take care of the two of us.

Its from here that I hope to be telling the story as it unfolds if God permits. Every day, or two, or a week, I will be able to sit on the computer to write something. Some posts are likely to be ridiculous or completely empty but I promise you everything will be nothing but the experience in this long journey to beat liver cancer. Some pictures will be shared too.

By setting up this blog, I am more than convinced that this journey will be a successful one. I am absolutely convinced that this disease will be defeated--I have seen the signs. There is no turning back. Through this blog, me and you will be able to share the experiences and from here we will build a network and synergies to conquer cancer in our country, region and eventually our world.

So, from this day on, I will be sharing with you, with the hope that you will read and share as much as you can. With my little tech knowledge, I will try to link the blog to my Twitter and Facebook so that it can have a wider reach. You can also be sharing using your own social media accounts.

I welcome your ideas and advice on how best we can do this. Together we can defeat cancer.

Regards from Bangalore

Edmund
@kagire