A mini-break or two

A quick visit to see my GP today to have medication for water retention, still have swollen ankles but not as bad as they were, and more medication to alleviate the pains from constipation that can be excruciating at times.

I am hoping the next three days, when we are boating on the Norfolk Broads, will be as good as the last two have been for me; that way the mini-break should be good for everyone involved. I shall therefore not be online until the beginning of next week, so cheerio for now as I make hay whilst the sun shines, or in our case as it drizzles with rain.

If this weekend proves successful we are hoping to have many more times away between chemotherapy sessions.
A friend has offered the load of his caravan on a seasonal site for a weekend.
We are thinking of travelling to Scotland stopping off along the way via Bed and Breakfast establishments.
A trip to Ireland would be in order as I would love to take my wife to Dublin.

Chemotherapy #3

A good day once again as I only required one nurse [and I got the best in Rose] who only needed the one needle and one attempt once again so either I am getting better or the nurses of been retrained in how to deal with patients like me and veins like mine.
I told her to put the needle underneath [underside of my arm] as I do not like it on top, to which she giggled and made me blush!

Felt extremely tired yesterday evening after my chemo session and that has continued today so much so that when we went on a family ‘walk’ I was encouraged to use my wheelchair for the return journey, which I did. Not only was it new to me but also to my daughter who pushed me uphill most of the way. Oh, and nearly out of the chair up the road kerb sides!
You do not realise just how bumpy the pavements are until you are in a wheel chair.

Joined the We are Macmillan. Cancer support website http://www.whatnow.org.uk/

Stomach pains continue – 27 May

It was once again 03.00am when I was running a bath in order to alleviate the pains in my back and stomach. It came as a surprise to me then that I had to run another bath at 06.00am to do the same. My partner, Zoe, woke me up at 08.00am as I still lay, fast asleep, in the bath water.

In order to give my stomach a rest I had unwisely lay off taking Paracetamol during a good part of the day, an experiment I shall not be repeating today given last night’s unsatisfactory results.

I still have the problems with stomach pains which at times have me bent over double trying to get some relief. I will have to monitor the situation and inform those who know better of the symptoms, which hopefully can be attributed to the effects of chemotherapy and nothing any more sinister than that.

Good thing about being up so early is the lovely birdsong that ordinarily gets lost amongst the traffic and background noise. Listen out for it, it really is magical.

So far, so good.

I am feeling as good as I have in a long time, naturally I still suffer from the effects of chemo, such as shortness of breath and my ankles still being swollen and sore, but the pains in my back are once again under control. I can smile inwardly as well as outwardly once again.

Chemotherapy - #1 of 3

The best ever! One nurse, one attempt and the needle was in, no problem, thank you Marie for a wonderful job. I cannot say I enjoy having chemotherapy but if they all went like this it would be a pretty boring blog. Marie was so expert in administering the needle that I felt very little pain at all, in fact I felt less pain from that than I did the taking of bloods the day before.

One complaint I do have is against the three cars that did not care to wait in the queue like the rest of us and decided to use the ambulance lane just as one came along. If I was the car park attendant those car owners would be going back to flat tyres after their business at the hospital. I really wish there was something you could do about inconsiderate people like these, what if it had been them in the ambulance?
[Back on form with a good moan, must be feeling good]

Macmillan Nurse visit

My assigned Macmillan Nurse, Anne, came to see us today for the first time in ages. She tends to leave us alone unless we request contact other than her calls to see how things are progressing. She is so thorough when she is here that we feel really well support and as if nothing is too much.
I am now on the list to receive a chair for the bath to ease me getting in and out of and also a wheelchair for when our jaunts to the Garden Centre or shops prove too much for my back. She has also increased my medication in-line with that already discussed as well as one other.

[She is now on the phone again as I type this, how uncanny is that? Clarification of my medication for the GP records]

She has also instructed me to apply for a Blue Badge to permit us to park in the allocated disabled parking zones in towns and shopping centres.

So you can see, she has just about every angle covered again for a while and like us is hoping the Chemo begins to work effectively, which today I may be so bold as to say may be improving.

Chemotherapy #2

It was a horrendous start to the day for me as I spent most of night on the toilet whilst at the same time getting weaker and weaker. I awoke not wanting to get out of bed, trying to eat enough and drink enough fluids to get the body functioning.
It was an uphill struggle to get ready after a bath just to go to the Hospital for Chemo and I would never have done it without my partner who was there for me once again.

The chemo session did not go too well initially, four needle attempts and three different nurses this week, which is one more of each than last week.
Twice the needle was ‘in’ and twice it had to come out again, firstly because it was painful when the fluids began to flow and therefore incorrectly fitted, and secondly there was no ‘flash back’ that indicates that the needle is sat in the vein by getting blood to flow throw it.

I think, having had the same nurse two weeks running, that we may have given her a complex if not knocking her self esteem as it is difficult for them when it does not go to plan, especially if the patient is distressed or in pain.

I have also been instructed by the hospital doctor, in conjunction with my MacMillan nurse, to increase by pain killer at night and first thing in the morning.

Barium Meal Xray

Approximately 40 years ago, as a young boy, I had a barium meal xray for which I was offered sixpence [2 ½p] if I drank all of the barium solution, which I did not.
And today at my second barium meal xray I did not finish all the solution either, how come it has not improved in all this time? Prior to the meal I had to have a spoon full of sherbet type medication that was swallowed down with a miniscule amount of fluid. I was stood up, lay down and rolled over in the machine until they could find a decent image to take, if they could not then they would ‘flood’ the area. I did not ask what they meant by that but I imagined enema and hoped that it worked, which thankfully it did, so ‘flooding’ was not necessary.
I guess I just await the results now and see what has been causing me to feel or be sick.

Return to Chemo

First day back at Chemotherapy since February and it was not a good start to the day, I could drink or eat little without feeling sick. I slept most of the morning and it took me all my energy to get washed and dressed. I am not eating or drinking enough to sustain a grown man’s body. I am now down to 9st 9lbs.

Once at the hospital the inevitable happening and my veins went into hiding, warm water bucket and a heated pillow would not bring them out. Eventually, three needles and two nurses later, the needle was in and Chemo began. Fortunately I fell asleep for most of it so the half an hour passed by seemingly quickly. Now let’s hope it does its job and rids me of some of the pains.

On a brighter note I had an email from the Hotel and Spa we were at last week asking if I minded them putting my thank you letter up on their website. I naturally have no problem with that whatsoever as it was sent from the heart and everything in it was sincere and honest.
Don’t know when it will appear but here is the link to the Hotel’s website.
Feversham Arms Hotel and Verbena Spa

Time off

Apart from the shortness of breath and the occasional bout of nausea I am not feeling too bad at all. Thankfully I am being told, instructed or just left to get on with doing very little, which is good for my body but not for my mind. We are soon to go out to pick a carpet so I can at least feel a little useful in that sense, other than that it is difficult doing nothing but necessary unless I want to be laid up in bed once again. I am enjoying a relatively pain-free existence at the moment and I am not suffering from the lack of chemotherapy.

If you hate your job right now, or the person next to you or the co-worker who is standing in your way it really isn’t all that important in the scheme of things; having wished for so long to escape the chains of the workplace I would gladly change places with most of you.

Being at home does have its benefits though and in good health I am sure it would be so different but for us, for now, we are making the most of this time off together and despite the difficulties I like being retired; if you can afford it, try it.