Hi there, one and all. Greetings from Moscow.
I am sitting inside the AA Maximov Centre, one of the world´s leading providers of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Therapy (HSCT), after a journey involving one lengthy coach trip and two flights.
The plane from Madrid touched down five minutes early at 5.10 this morning. And that was quite a shock, having left home with the temperature in the mid 20s celsius, in Moscow it was just 2 degrees when we arrived.
I was met at the airport and was whisked around the city highlights before being taken to the hospital. Among other things, he showed me were Red Square, the Kremlin, the Bolshoi Ballet and what use to be the headquarters of the KGB.
I have already met Dr Denis Fedorenko’s assistant Anastasia Panchenko and I am due to meet the good doctor later. Tests start today and will continue until Thursday to determine if I am medically suitable to have HSCT at some point in the future.
My plan is to write a few words every day, so stay tuned to 50shadesofsun.com.
50shadesofsun.com is the personal website if Ian Franks, who is Managing Editor (columns division) of BioNews Services. BioNews is owner of 50 disease-specific news and information websites – including MS News Today. Ian has enjoyed a successful career as a journalist, from reporter to editor, in the print media. During that career he gained a Journalist of the Year award in his native UK. He was diagnosed with MS in 2002 but continued working until mobility problems forced him to retire early in late 2006. He now lives in the south of Spain. Besides MS, Ian is also able to write about both epilepsy and cardiovascular matters from a patient’s perspective and is a keen advocate on mobility and accessibility issues.
50shadesofsun 