Aidan and his niece

Oh, dear. Word that I got out of hospital has not reached everyone. My fault for not announcing it more loudly (i.e. here). My apologies. The picture above was taken in March shortly after my release from hospital after my bout of pneumonia. My sister and her family came to visit us here. It was still cold and I was struggling to do much. Happily things are improving but I must be careful as another dose of pneumonia would be very serious. My immune system basically offers me no protection from whatever nasty bug may be going around – that’s why I wear a mask!

April 26th marked one year since the transplant. One year already – it is hard to believe. I no longer have Type A blood but B. I am all skin and bones, though I eat a lot. There are some minor ailments due to the ongoing feud between the donor’s cells and my system (the unavoidable GVHD) but I have been relatively lucky. Slowly we are picking up the pieces after two years of nothing but hospitals. Spring was brief this year and it is starting to get warm. It feels good to be alive!

Total Balance
Received to date　　¥7,723,295
Paid out to date　 ¥3,884,416
Amount remaining　 ¥3,838,879

We will continue to update payment reports on this website.

Once again, thank you very much.

Save Aidan
Ikuko Kumai, Bookkeeper.

立夏の候、皆様におかれましては益々ご健勝のこととお慶び申し上げます。
2011年12月14日～2013年5月19日現在までの寄付金の収支報告を致します。

寄付金の合計額　　7,723,295円
エイダン医療費支払い金額　3,884,416円
寄付金残高　3,838,879円

今後も入金、支払いが発生次第、当ホームページ上でご報告致します。
ありがとうございました。

セーブエイダン
会計　熊井郁子

Many thanks for your continued support. All in all, we raised more than twice our intended target. As Aidan still requires treatment, we will be paying his bills not covered by his national health insurance. At some point in the future, we will make a decision on how to donate the remaining funds, based on our original mission statement.

For the time being, we have removed the PayPal account and are no longer taking donations.

Please keep an eye on the site for updates on both Aidan’s and the fund’s progress.

Warmest Regards,

Simon Moran
Chair
Save Aidan

We hope this finds everyone enjoying the nice spring weather.

Total Balance Report
Received to date　　¥7,708,595
Paid out to date　 ¥3,884,416
Amount remaining　 ¥3,824,179

We will continue to update payment reports on this website.

Once again, thank you very much.

Save Aidan
Ikuko Kumai, Bookkeeper.

浅春の候、皆様におかれましては益々ご健勝のこととお慶び申し上げます。
2011年12月14日～2013年3月3日現在までの寄付金の収支報告を致します。

寄付金の合計額　　7,708,595円
エイダン医療費支払い金額　3,884,416円
寄付金残高　3,824,179円

今後も支払いが発生次第、当ホームページ上でご報告致します。
ありがとうございました。

セーブエイダン
会計　熊井郁子

Paid to Osaka University Hospital (OUH) etc.
Total payment ¥793,036.

We will continue to update payment reports on this website.

Once again, thank you all very much.

Save Aidan
Ikuko Kumai, Bookkeeper.

向春の候、皆様におかれましてはますますご健勝のこととお慶び申し上げます。
皆様から頂きました貴重な寄付金から、下記機関へセーブエイダンより支払いを行いましたのでご報告致します。

大阪大学医学部附属病院他
合計支払金額　793,036円

今後も支払いが発生次第、当ホームページ上でご報告致します。

ありがとうございました。

セーブエイダン
会計　熊井郁子

Since there is no recent picture here is a snap. The shades are just because I am having problems with my eyes. Basically no moisture or tears reach them resulting in damage which means ordinary daylight is blinding. Haven’t driven for a couple of months and even cycling can be perilous. Seems the condition is very common post-transplant.

Old man of Sasayama

Autumn colours in Sasayama

My recovery has been going smoothly though it is a long process and there are still some minor complaints. Having come off steroids I lost a lot of weight and am now down to 47 kg/7½ stone (my normal weight would be 65 kg or just over 10 stone). Due to GVHD I also have some trouble with my eyes and mouth drying out. The most serious issue though is that I still have no effective immunity against any kind of infection and must be very careful.

All of those are minor problems when I think of where I have been. All in all I feel good even if I don’t have much energy and still take things very slowly. I am hoping to resume work part-time in April. For me and my family this promises to be a wonderful year. May the same be true for everyone.

None of this would have been possible without your acts of kindness. Perhaps more important than just being able to go ahead with the transplant is the fact that I could do so in such a positive frame of mind. Only weeks before Save Aidan was launched by my friends I was in a very dark place cursing my bad luck. Thanks to the incredible response to the appeal I entered hospital full of hope and believing that anything is possible. It may seem strange but I found the transplant a lot less stressful than previous rounds of treatment. I am in no doubt that my state of mind affected how things went (and they went very smoothly). Thank you everyone.

I, and my family, also want to say thank you for your messages of encouragement and support. They have helped us enormously over the past months and lifted our spirits whenever the things got tough. If we did not respond may we take this opportunity to say thank you.

We remain in awe at the dedication and talents of the doctors and nurses who looked after me. A better team would be hard to find. Thank you.

Finally one person must be singled out. Somewhere out there is my donor who gave bone marrow to help a stranger. You saved my life. We will never be able to thank you properly but thank you anyway.

ご報告しておりましたように、先日退院し、帰宅いたしました。
この一年半の間、私そして家族が経験した旅は、途方もない、どんな想像をも超える旅でした。今のところ、経過はこれ以上望めないほど良好で、信じられないような幸運に恵まれたことを感じています。

娘は、これが「本当の退院なの？」と、何度も尋ねます。
発病当時、5歳だった娘は今、7歳になりました。
「そう、運に恵まれて、ダディは家へ帰って来た。本当の退院だよ。」
私達一家にとっては、とても信じられないことです。

この全てのことは、皆さんのご厚意なしにはあり得ませんでした。
恐らく、単に移植を受けることが許されたということ以上に大きかったのは、とても前向きな気持ちで治療に立ち向かえた事実。

友人達によってセーブエイダンが立ち上げられるほんの数週間前まで、私は、深い暗闇の中で自分の不運をのろっていました。呼び掛けに対する素晴らしい反響のおかげで、病院に向かう私の胸は希望で満たされました。できないことは何もない、と信じて。

不思議に思われるかもしれませんが、前回までの治療に比べ、このたびの移植では随分ストレスを感じることが少なかったように思います。そんな心の状態が、これまでの経過（とても順調に進んだこと）に影響を及ぼしたと、確信しています。　皆さん、ありがとう。

それから、励ましのお言葉や応援のメッセージをくださった皆さんへ。
私を含め、家族一同より、お礼を申し上げたい。
いただいたお言葉、メッセージには、とてもとても助けられました。
この数カ月間、辛かった時にはいつも、私や家族を元気づけてくれました。
この機会に、まだお返事を差し上げられていなかった方にも、ありがとう。

お世話になったドクターの皆さん、ナースの皆さん。
その献身と才能に、畏敬の念を抱いてやみません。
ありがとう、これ以上のチームは、探しても容易には見つからないでしょう。

最後に、ひとりの大切な人のこと。
この世界のどこかに、見知らぬこの私へ骨髄を提供くださったドナーさんがいる。
あなたが、私の命を救ってくださった。
ありがとう。　感謝しても、しきれないけれど。