Who's On The Phone

Am intrigued to know who is reading this blog and then telephoning Karen to find out details of office closures... Is it ship to shore perchance?

Went to Ordsall Hall today with Jim. What a pile of pants that place is. Really, just pants and full of kids If people need details let me know. But then we went to the Lowry Outlet for a coffee and a browse which was very nice. Didn't buy anything (except coffee) though. I think they only sell second hand (or shop lifted)stuff which is why it is all so cheap. And no-one would accept my Harvey Nicks account card...

Not much else happened today. Did some washing. Threw away some dead flowers (yes I did my tongue exercises mum - she's been out for a chinese tonight and so wasn't at home to nag me when I phoned). Didn't need a nap this afternoon. Also took my painkillers in tablet form tonight. So much less hassle...

Night one and all and don't stay up too late ogling the posh totty on BB. J x

Ow Beagle

What an exhausting day. It kicked off at 0900 with me having blood taken and then some sort of radioactive liquid injected into my veins. I then had to have blood taken again 2 hours later and than again 2 hours after that. In between these vampiric episodes I had my head bolted to a table on 2 separate occasions. It really is an unpleasant experience and one that I will have to repeat 5 days a week for the next 6 weeks. I suppose its better than dying though. I finally left Christies at about 1330.

I then had to have a nap by which time it was visiting hours and Cath, Gill and Denise came along.

And then it was time for Big Brother. Loved the house and the rubber furniture and the whole "outside-in" theme going on. But oh my god the contestants. Don't get me started on Shabaz who needs to be killed (or at the very least voted out) at the earliest opportunity. And before everyone (except Jane) gets snooty with me for watching it, its at least better than 13 weeks of football. J x

Now I Know Why I'm Not Back In Work Yet

Walked into town and went to Boots, M & S and Paperchase. Then had to get a taxi home as was exhausted. On top of that when I got home I had to go for a 2 hour nap! Am I old? J x

Don't Listen To The Woman In The Tutu

I most certainly do have a large lump although strictly speaking it is on my neck rather than my face. Was great to see Jane and Gill today. Thank you for the beautiful flowers. Had a more hectic day today (visitors aside) as I hoovered, did some washing and also some gardening. Phew. Then settled down to watch the latest instalment of Lost. Oh my God. Who are the people who stole Michael's son? They're obviously not the people from the back of the plane (and why are half of them missing?). Got to watch next week now.

Venturing into town tomorrow. On my own. Unless you count my lump as a companion. Personally I don't since it doesn't have much to say for itself and refuses to do any of the household chores. I shall be buying myself some yoghurts and some flavoured milk - my current culinary delights! J x

Moving Swiftly On...

...(in case anyone stumbling across this site thinks we're all geeks who can only talk about doctors and flares), how are you all doing? I've had an uneventful day today since the weather has left me disinclined to do anything. Didn't even make it out of my pyjamas today (my mother will have something to say about that I'm sure).

Susie T called round today on her way to Southampton and the Mediterranean. Bon voyage sweetie (to you and Nanny) and don't forget to log on whilst on the boat.

Sorry, hope to have more to report tomorrow. J x

Dr Who

Oh dear. I liked the zeppelins though. J x

So Sad To be All Alone In The World

Well, they've gone. My Mum was still feeling a bit icky this morning but she wanted to go home so that if she got any worse she'd be able to see her own doctor. I'm really pleased that they've gone since they really need a break from looking after me. And I know that I'm self sufficient in feeding myself and controlling any pain (and frankly, what else matters) but I still feel like I've lost my safety net. I'm really grateful for all that they've done over the last few weeks and I really couldn't have had better parents. So this message is just to say "missing you already" and looking forward to seeing you again on the 24th (they're back up for the radiotherapy). J x

One Swallow...

... does a summer make. Young Sean and Frances were over the moon with my swallowing technique yesterday which was very gratifying. YS also told me that the lump on the side of my face should reduce "significantly" which is also good news. Further down the line there may also be cosmetic procedures that can be undertaken to reduce it even further. I don't think anyone is talking about my returning to my pre-op gorgeousness though. But then Cath said something that brought a tear to my eye, she said that people would like my lump because it was part of me (or words to that effect). How nice was that?

Caroline was pleased with my skin graft and I no longer have to wear a dressing on it. I'll probably still put a bandage on it if I go out or when seeing people because its still not very attractive to look at at the moment. I do get to shower now though without a bag on my arm. My trachy scar is, apparently, "over-granulating" which means its healing too much. I didn't think this was possible but I now have some cream to put on it to stop this happening.

One piece of bad news is that my Mum isn't feeling too well. So the Aged Ps have decided to stay on an extra day until she's feeling better. I now get the chance to look after her which is nice.

Jim and Denise tonight so I'll post later and let you know any further news. J x

Darn It

Spent half an hour typing out reams about my day only for the bloody blog site to collapse on me. Too late to do it all again now but rest assured you would have laughed. You would have cried. You may very well have fallen asleep. Will do it tomorrow as will have a lot of time on my hands on account of being ALL ALONE IN THE WORLD. J x

B & Q today....

... and B & Q tomorrow. Life doesn't get much sweeter than this.

Also got young Sean, Frances & Caroline in the afternoon.

Unfortunately the Scottish One had to delay her visit as she was still working at 2030! And I thought "Lean" meant everything got done a lot quicker...

Good Night One And All J x

Report

Spent afternoon at Christies. Had mould made of my head - which wasn't too bad as the mould is made of a plastic mesh so that it was possible to breathe OK. Mould maker was, I suspect, a friend of Dorothy's and therefore an all round good egg.

Have to go back on the 18th to have the mould marked up (so that they know where to direct the radiation), also to have a CT scan and finally for a kidney function test (apparemtly the chemotherapy can affect the kidneys). My radiotherapy proper then starts on the 25th for 6 weeks. The chemotherapy is given in week one and week 4. The chemotherapy apparently makes the radiotherapy side-effects worse but improves the chances of killing any cancer cells so what's a boy to do? Keep smiling and swallow the medicine! (unless my throat becomes too sore for swallowing medicine...).

Ma and Pa (aka Saints Janet & Bill of the Bowling Green) will be going home on Friday for a well deserved rest from being saintly but will be back on their clouds with their harps newly strung in time for the start of the radiotherapy. When reading this please say "hallelujah and pass the box of wine" out loud to thank them.

The wonderful gift of La Gloria wended its way here from Newcastle (via Germany and/or the US I'm not sure which) and I'm as pleased as punch that it did.

Lost. Curiouser and curiouser. What would have happened if he hadn't pressed the button? Anything? Too tired to think about it now (3 visitors tonight and Karen tomorrow - I need to conserve my strength!). And we're off to B & Q in the morning. Yippee. J x

Oh My God, Oh My God, Oh My God

I have just been sent a signed photo of Gloria Gaynor. Outstanding. Unbelievable. I am (virtually) speechless. Thank you. J x

Ho Hum

Nothing of interest happened today. Had some mushroom soup. Had a postcard from Spain. Did some dusting. All kicks off tomorrow though with visit to Christies in the afternoon for the mask making. Will update you all on that tomorrow. J x

Just Read...

...a book Caroline loaned me by Christine Piff who had cancer back in the 70s. God I just wanted to slap her she was so cheerful about everything (at least she was in the book). To be fair to her she had it much worse than I have (apparently) and so had very little to be cheerful about. But she must have felt down at times, its only natural. She should have put that in her book. There's no point pretending that things are going to be better than they are. That's also something that worries me from reading John Diamond's book. He complained about the "limited disclosure" practised by the doctors i.e. they too were pretending that things were going to be better than they were by not explaining the full implications of all his results to him. Will therefore challenge young Sean when I see him on Thursday just to make sure that I know all I need to know about the future.

Having said all the above, I'm feeling quite happy today (planted up another planter on the terrace - black grass) but not so happy that you'd want to slap me! Good night Seattle. J x

Moby Dick

Went to see it. Wished I hadn't. J x

Who'd Have Thunk It

(Deep breath, roll of drums) Actually made it to the garden centre today. Only bought 2 geraniums and some plant food but decided on tree and furniture and located whereabouts of pyrocantha so will make another trip soon when ready to plant. I lurve garden centres, particularly Bents.

Also saw speech therapist this morning (nothing to report) and Caroline (nothing to report) and have appointment to see young Sean next Thursday. I wonder how he's getting on?

Night night. J x

Big Steps

What a day it's been. I walked into town this morning to vote (first time I've ever voted Conservative but a) the candidate promised to put recycling facilities outside every appartment block in Manchester - and therefore I get brownie points with Denise - and, b), he was the cutest of all the candidates!). After voting went to Starbucks to meet my Team Leader from work. Bought myself a mocha frappacino only to discover that my suck muscles seem to be somewhat depleted and the drink was too thick for me to coax it up the straw! A huge disappointment.

Bob was well and on form. He even brought me the latest Manager's Briefing Pack detailing all the Local Compliance changes about to be implemented in HMRC. Seems I won't recognise the place when I come back (always assuming I don't go off sheep farming in Wales instead). We even discussed the possibility of me popping in to work to say hello before I start the radiotherapy but I'll have to see how things go before I decide whether I can face doing that yet.

I then walked back to the flat. This was officially my longest trip out and I was knackered by the time I got home and had to retire to my bed. So still not made it to the garden centre yet although it was so windy this afternoon I doubt we'd have been able to do anything on the terrace anyway.

Sue called round this evening and, as always, it was an absolute pleasure to see her. Kev, unfortunately, was otherwise detained elsewhere by a game of snooker and a curry.

As far as the radiotherapy goes, I have an appointment at Christies on Tuesday to have the mould made of my head. Apparently this is to ensure that your head stays absolutely still during the treatment and also that its in exactly the same position on each visit. This ensures the radiation only goes where its supposed to. Also got an appointment at MRI for tomorrow to see the speech therapist who will check on my swallowing (memo to self - check on lack of suck at the same time).

And that's all for tonight folks (barring any late night flashes of inspiration). J x

Finally....

...the food arrives. We can all breathe easy in the knowledge that I'm not about to starve to death. Phew.

Nutritionist visited this morning but didn't have much to say. Denise visited tonight and had lots to say!

Didn't make it to the garden centre as had to wait in all day for the food to arrive but may go tomorrow afternoon. Hooray.

Thanks for the flowers and the flower card. They were all beautiful. I have now had over 80 cards which is just incredible. Who knew I knew so many people (and that they remembered me and that they actually liked me)? I'm extrememly grateful to everyone for all their good wishes. J x

Lost

Phew. Not doing 3rd episode though even though v v exciting. Ms Murray, you're welcome whenever you fancy just give me a call.... J x

A Day of Many Things

Unfortunately, none of them were a garden centre.

Went to the doctor's first thing to get a prescription for painkillers and some sick notes (got one for the next 20 weeks). Will give them to Team Leader when I see him. He phoned this morning but because of running around all day didn't manage to get back to him. Will speak to him tomorrow (hopefully).

Had to go back to the ward to pick up some more Fortisips since the arrangements put in place for me to have them delivered didn't work out as planned. Nutritionist is coming to see me tomorrow now. Had dressing changed by Caroline (who we like lots now and not just because I've given her the blog address).

Dad had to go to the eye hospital (we're a sickly family!) because he's had a bloodshot eye for a couple of days. They told him it was just a burst blood vessel (phew) and nothing to worry about. It should clear up of its own accord in a couple of weeks.

Then had to go to bed as exhausted. Now wide awake and looking forward to a double helping of Lost. Can'twait. J x