The phone call Troy wanted to hear

NATASHA MARTIN/Timaru Herald

BACK HOME: Troy Hardy treasures Easter with his 15-month-old daughter Rose, after learning he is leukaemia free and in remission.

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A simple phone call informed Troy Hardy he is leukaemia free.

The Timaru father-of-two is in remission after a ground breaking double umbilical cord blood transplant on January 7 in the South Island bone marrow unit in Christchurch.

On Wednesday the 41-year-old got the call he had been waiting for, his specialist letting him know there was no sign of the chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia.

"I was quite anxious until I got the phone call. I am in remission, they never say cured. I feel a lot better now, especially mentally. I got sick after I first came home and have been pretty weak, but now I know that's just fatigue, it's not leukaemia.

"It has been a really tough ride not only for me but Andrea (his wife), and the kids too."

The stem cells in the cord blood have "ingrafted", giving him healthy white blood cells. This followed intensive radiation and chemotherapy to eradicate the chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia he was diagnosed with last May.

The two lots of cord blood were flown in from Italy and Spain.

"They confirmed it is the Italian cord blood that has ingrafted. I think of it like I have been fighting a beast and I do believe the mind controls the body so you have to stay positive, and my family coming up has helped that."

While he has shown mental strength through the illness which saw him in isolation for 103 days, his body has taken a hard hit.

"I have lost around 15kg. When I first got home I would walk to the door and be exhausted. It will probably take about a year to recover.

"It seemed like such a long time when I was in there [in isolation], but in five years it won't feel like that. I'm focusing on getting fit and staying healthy."

His wife, Andrea, likened the process to childbirth. "You forget what it was like pretty quickly. The hardest thing I am finding is fitting everything in. I am having to be the caregiver, work and look after the kids."

She was disappointed there was little financial or physical support for the family.

While the family are thankful for the ingraftment they are aware there is still a journey ahead of them.

To follow Troy's journey, visit his self-built website: thistledew.co.nz. The family can be helped financially by giving money to the Troy Hardy Donation Account at the Timaru ASB branch or direct credit to 12-3159-0073168-00.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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