Hi Paul.
I saw your other posts but I'll answer them here to make this more "your thread" (everybody needs their own thread IMHO!
).
It's so nice to have our fourth (as far as I know) Londoner here! I had my transplant for AA/hypo-MDS at King's last summer, and I cannot recommend them highly enough. Profs Marsh and Mufti (she's AA, he's MDS) are spectacular, the outpatient client, DMU (the dedicated BMT ward) and Davidson (the specialist haematology ward) are utterly fantastic. My whole experience has been nothing short of world class (except the food. Ugh, selling off the NHS catering to private companies was the worst policy change ever). Oh, and one thing I should've done immediately is ask HOP about getting free prescriptions - you're eligible now, and the meds prices REALLY ad up fast, even at £7 each (my first post-transplant pharmacy run was well over £100!). And they've got benefits advisors there, too, which you need to sort out before you go in, because you'll be off work for at least 6 months (seriously!).
Have you got any news on a possible donor or timeline yet? And have you met with Cyril or Janet? They're the pre-transplant nurse specialists at King's and they're so lovely (as is Michelle, the post-transplant nurse specialist). I know so many of the Kings haematology nurses and health care assistants by name, but they all rotate between HOP, Davidson, DMU, and the Chemo unit so I never know where they'll be at any given month.
And where do you live in London? I only ask because we had to sort out the travel logistics post-transplant and it meant we had to go and buy a car, because I wasn't allowed on public transport for a few months afterwards, and cabs weren't advised, either, because you never know what illness the passengers before you had. So my husband (then fiance) had to drive me back and forth to Kings a LOT, which was hard on his work schedule, too. So if you're not close by, you'll want to do some thinking about transport or if you should stay somewhere nearby once you're discharged (HOP have info on cut-price accommodation nearby for patients).
The only other thing that I can think of to tell you right now is silly - the DMU has really terrible mobile reception for some reason (enough to send and receive texts, but calls were pointless) but the paid-for wifi is fantastic (around £12 for a month). So emails and skype were much better ways for my family to keep in touch.
If you've got any questions at all, feel free to ask!
melissa