English [31/01/2008]
This weblog is in Dutch, as it is my native language. For the people that do not understand Dutch well enough, here is a page with a short summary of my story in English.
My name is Alexander Smakman, I’m a 21-year-old Chemistry student from Holland. I study at Leiden University.
In november 2005, after months of physical problems, leukemia was diagnosed in the Leiden hospital, LUMC. The treatment started directly and was to take 2 years to complete.
At the start of the treatment I was given a high dosage of chemotherapy for several weeks. After this period, I had to go to the hospital almost every week for another dose of chemo. These were mostly short admissions, where I would go home the same day.
During the treatment I generally felt quite ill. Always tired, with difficulty in concentrating and my study had to be postponed until after the therapy. Chemo therapy is quite a destructive treatment and has left me with osteoporosis (weak bones) and heart problems.
End of January 2008, when having being admitted to the hospital for a treatment of my osteoporosis, a blood test showed irregular values. After some more tests it showed the leukemia had returned. This time, another long treatment with chemo therapy would not be the best option, so a bone marrow transplant will be performed. I now await the transplant, while the leukemia will be kept under control by more chemo therapy.
In my blog I write the stories of my struggle. Many of my friends and family check the blog regularly to be kept up-to-date this way.
If you really wish to read the blog, you may try using Google Translate. This will give you a computer-generated translation of the page. The translations are far from perfect, but with a bit of fantasy and smarts, you’ll probably be able to understand the message of the stories told.
If you have a question for me or any other reason to want to contact me, you can find my details at smakkie.com.
Alexander.