By Wednesday evening I definitely felt quite good - I decided I had reduced pain in my spine and hip so happy bunny. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't 'pain free' but it did seem less of a 'pain' - however Wednesday was also the day when my new drugs plan started so that makes it impossible to tell if it's a good reaction to the bisphosphonate drug or a good reaction to the new meds prescribed by the lovely C.
Thursday I managed to get out shopping with Rab - not far, just a short bus ride away but we were out around 2 hours and I didn't feel at any point that I couldn't cope and needed to get back home again. Since around October we've not managed to get out shopping because within 20 mins I'm saying 'I can't do this, I need to go home because the pain is just too much'.....so we got out and I coped well - Yay!
Finally managed to spend my voucher that James and Leanne gave me around a year ago (for Accessorize) - found a lovely handbag in there that matched my brown boots perfectly - however I then found a totally gorgeous scarf too.
Hmmm, decisions, decisions, which to have? - luckily Rab stepped in and said he'd buy me the scarf, so I got both :)) Brilliant :)
I then popped into another shop and found a nice pair of jeans, a warm jumper and a lovely top - good day for shopping obviously :)
Friday I spoke with my nurse, C, she rang to make sure I was feeling a bit better on the new pain meds and to adjust levels if not...Had a nice chat with her, she also asked about Rab and the boys and we said we'd catch up again early February - unless I need her beforehand. I have the number to get in touch with her if I have any issues at all. Feel better about a lot of things since she's been involved in my care.
Saturday morning I was really looking forward to my visitors, Lisa and her lovely son T, plus Tony. Both were travelling many many miles to see me and I was so pleased to know that the three of us would finally get together.
We are all fellow bloggers - initially we all met on a Cancer Chat forum and built an online friendship, which developed into much more.
We were, as Shents (Lisa) put it, the 'gang of five' who just gelled on first meeting each other online. Out of our five, we've lost 2 - David who passed away in April last year and Rose who passed away in June. The original plan was that all five of us would get together late summer last year - but it wasn't to be.
During the summer holidays I had met up with Lisa and her two gorgeous children (regular followers of my blog will recall that meeting back in August 2011 - we had a great day out with the children)...I'd spoken to Tony many many times by phone but we'd not actually met in person - however I wasn't in the slightest bit concerned because I knew we'd all just 'gel' the way we did online........and we did :)
Lisa and T arrived first and within 5 minutes Dj and T had picked up their conversation from where they'd left it, back in August - to listen to them you'd think they'd seen each other yesterday :)....
Whilst Lisa and I had a cuppa and a chat they went down into the back garden to shoot Justin Beiber with Dj's BB guns....(it was a poster, don't panic! and they wore safety goggles!)....
Lisa and I chatted about things and again it felt as though I'd only seen her yesterday, not 5 months ago. She is totally comfortable to be around, has a naturally sunny nature, is warm, friendly and someone you'd actually WANT to be friends with - a special lady indeed...and she'd travelled from the North of England to me, way down in the South, their journey took over 5 hours, just to give me a hug and some company.
Tony arrived shortly afterwards - he pulled up outside in his car at exactly the same time as James and Leanne arrived. I heard him call out to James ' James, where can I park' and again it felt as though it was a completely natural conversation with someone who was around regularly, not someone we'd never met before.
Tony came in, hugs all around - kettle on so lots of tea and chatting...then Sarah and Manolis arrived to meet Lisa and Tony too...more tea/coffee then we had lunch and finished off with some gorgeous donuts that Tony had picked up along the route. Again it had taken him 6 hours to get to me........
We finally managed to all get together and not only that, James, Leanne, Sarah and Manolis also managed to get over to meet them and it was a really lovely day.
Everyone got on, everyone was comfortable - complete strangers brought together by one disgusting disease - brought together by something you'd not wish onto your worst enemy but without it, I'd never have met them.
I don't know why I got cancer - but I do know that sometimes you are meant to meet some people in life. I feel I was supposed to meet Lisa and Tony.......They are life time friends - true friends and I'm so happy we finally met up :)
Thank you both for coming all that way just to check up on me - much luv to you both xx
About Me
- Carole
- I'm Carole, living in London, happily married and mum to two amazing boys.I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Rectal Cancer in April 2010. Surgery took place in November 2010 and I now have a permanent colostomy...Spinal mets were then diagnosed in October 2011...In January 2012 I was told of further spread to the hip area (multiple lesions)..My life expectancy is now 6-9 months. Walk alongside me on the last part of my experience with this..
Friday, 20 January 2012
Bloods, Drugs and 'no Side Effects'.......
Me again :) I'm BACK just as I said I would be - lol......
So to recap on the last 10 days or so..
Monday, 9th - went down the the local hospital to get bloods done prior to the infusion of bisphosphonates the following day. They need to do your bloods first as they must check things like your calcium levels, kidney function and make sure that the white cells are behaving themselves beforehand.
Arrived just before 11am and found the LONGEST queue ever in the bloods department. So, I pulled the cancer card (something I never usually even think about doing).
First I asked the (bored looking) woman on reception roughly how long the wait was for bloods....she replied at least 1.5hrs probably 2hrs. I then quietly asked if there was any way for me to be fast tracked for two reasons, firstly because the cancer is in my spine and I find it really hard to sit in one position for that long - and secondly because I had a Palliative care nurse visiting me at home from Macmillan today and I really didn't want to miss her or waste her time, so could she ask if it would be possible to see me as quickly as possible?
Her reply was firstly to look at her fingernails in deep thought followed by a long sigh and then.....No.....
That was it...just 'No'.....I looked at Rab, he looked at me and we just shook our heads, walked away and sat and waited - in total for 1 hr and 58minutes. By the time I was seen I was irritable and in pain from sitting upright in one position on a hard plastic chair for so long. The bloods lady greets us with 'Hello, are you well?'.....I bit my tongue and said 'Not really, I'm in a lot of pain, the wait was ridiculous and I'd think you 'could' maybe make special arrangements for people who are really genuinely in pain' She just smiled and said nothing.
It just makes you feel so so cared for in this place!
Managed to catch my Palliative care nurse just as we arrived home, she was about to drive off having waited for just over half an hour for me. Apologised and explained and she agreed that it should be possible to help people in genuine need of assistance.
Anyway, her name is C, she's lovely and she'll be my guide on pain management now until the end.
She has wiped the slate clean with my original meds and we're doing a new regime which includes more morphine than before, but slow release so I only have to take it 12 hourly. I will still be using the Dicolfenac for the bone pain, plus paracetamol 6 hourly - paracetamol actually helps the Diclofenac work more efficiently apparently - don't say you learn nothing by reading my blog :-)) On top of that I still have my Oramorph in place (liquid morphine) for breakthrough pain which I can use 2 hourly if necessary.
I think the new med's help more than the co-codamol were doing but at the moment I'm on the lowest possible dose to see if I can manage there. If not, it will be increased gradually until we find the right dosage that removes most of the persistent pain. Morphine of course is highly addictive - this hardly matters in the scheme of things going on with me though.
We had a long chat about everything, end of life care plan, funeral arrangements, the boys (I cried...I ALWAYS bloody cry when someone wants to talk about the boys) Rab (cried some more) and just general stuff like who's who in my family and how everyone around me is coping, do we need any practical help etc. I bonded with her and she's really kind so I know she'll be doing her best for me.
She's also going to organise some complimentary therapies for me at Trinity Hospice shortly....remember my link if you've not donated and have a spare couple of quid knocking around :)
So, that was Monday.
Tuesday, 10th in the afternoon I was due to have my first infusion of bisphosphonates. I mistakenly thought I'd be getting some time with a Doctor beforehand to: discuss any concerns I had; make sure my bloods had been checked; ask any questions that I'd thought of; warn me of any side effects to watch for, that sort of thing......but no, it was a case of sit in the chair, nice nurse comes over and jabs a cannula into your arm, checks your date of birth, take two vials of blood first, then starts the infusion.
I'm sure she said something about my bloods being used for checking next time...and I didn't say anything but thought, not likely. I know my bloods need to be done AFTER the infusion, not beforehand. I know they need to be checked 24-48hrs before each infusion - there is no way they're going to use 'old' blood - surely?....Anyway, not a problem because I'll be dealing with that nearer the time.
During this first infusion I asked her 'What are the side effects of this drug?'....she replied 'None'.
Hmmm, that's definitely NOT what the manufacturers website says - so, me being me, asked some more questions. 'Are you sure, all drugs have side effects don't they?'.....She then said 'Usually you don't have side effects with this drug' - I then told her I'm NOT usual, I was removed from Chemo after just two days due to toxicity problems....she smiled and said 'You'll be fine, nothing to worry about' and wandered off. That's good then.......I'll be fine and I don't need to be informed of anything to watch out for!
Sarah was with me and we sat there for a while just chatting and finding things to laugh about, quietly because no-one in there makes any noise at all - it's quieter than a library building! Drip, drip, drip infusion all done after about half an hour - followed by a quick flush through (sterile water) and then we were free to leave after making the appointment for the next one in four weeks time...but no appointment for a prior blood test?
Hmmm, I'll be doing something about this nearer the time but it never ceases to amaze me how much I've had to educate myself on my treatments, how much I have to check and double check, how many times I have to chase things up that need doing. It's all getting a bit (lot) irritating now.
Tuesday evening I still had a strange taste in my mouth, but nothing untoward was happening.
I did increase my pain meds Tuesday night as the pain did feel slightly more intense than earlier - but I'd been out doing things, walking around, sitting around, being jabbed.... so that was probably the cause rather than any 'immediate' side effects :)
Going to break the rest of what's been happening down into other posts - or this one will end up just too long
Here's a couple of pictures that Sarah took whilst we were in the unit.....
So to recap on the last 10 days or so..
Monday, 9th - went down the the local hospital to get bloods done prior to the infusion of bisphosphonates the following day. They need to do your bloods first as they must check things like your calcium levels, kidney function and make sure that the white cells are behaving themselves beforehand.
Arrived just before 11am and found the LONGEST queue ever in the bloods department. So, I pulled the cancer card (something I never usually even think about doing).
First I asked the (bored looking) woman on reception roughly how long the wait was for bloods....she replied at least 1.5hrs probably 2hrs. I then quietly asked if there was any way for me to be fast tracked for two reasons, firstly because the cancer is in my spine and I find it really hard to sit in one position for that long - and secondly because I had a Palliative care nurse visiting me at home from Macmillan today and I really didn't want to miss her or waste her time, so could she ask if it would be possible to see me as quickly as possible?
Her reply was firstly to look at her fingernails in deep thought followed by a long sigh and then.....No.....
That was it...just 'No'.....I looked at Rab, he looked at me and we just shook our heads, walked away and sat and waited - in total for 1 hr and 58minutes. By the time I was seen I was irritable and in pain from sitting upright in one position on a hard plastic chair for so long. The bloods lady greets us with 'Hello, are you well?'.....I bit my tongue and said 'Not really, I'm in a lot of pain, the wait was ridiculous and I'd think you 'could' maybe make special arrangements for people who are really genuinely in pain' She just smiled and said nothing.
It just makes you feel so so cared for in this place!
Managed to catch my Palliative care nurse just as we arrived home, she was about to drive off having waited for just over half an hour for me. Apologised and explained and she agreed that it should be possible to help people in genuine need of assistance.
Anyway, her name is C, she's lovely and she'll be my guide on pain management now until the end.
She has wiped the slate clean with my original meds and we're doing a new regime which includes more morphine than before, but slow release so I only have to take it 12 hourly. I will still be using the Dicolfenac for the bone pain, plus paracetamol 6 hourly - paracetamol actually helps the Diclofenac work more efficiently apparently - don't say you learn nothing by reading my blog :-)) On top of that I still have my Oramorph in place (liquid morphine) for breakthrough pain which I can use 2 hourly if necessary.
I think the new med's help more than the co-codamol were doing but at the moment I'm on the lowest possible dose to see if I can manage there. If not, it will be increased gradually until we find the right dosage that removes most of the persistent pain. Morphine of course is highly addictive - this hardly matters in the scheme of things going on with me though.
We had a long chat about everything, end of life care plan, funeral arrangements, the boys (I cried...I ALWAYS bloody cry when someone wants to talk about the boys) Rab (cried some more) and just general stuff like who's who in my family and how everyone around me is coping, do we need any practical help etc. I bonded with her and she's really kind so I know she'll be doing her best for me.
She's also going to organise some complimentary therapies for me at Trinity Hospice shortly....remember my link if you've not donated and have a spare couple of quid knocking around :)
So, that was Monday.
Tuesday, 10th in the afternoon I was due to have my first infusion of bisphosphonates. I mistakenly thought I'd be getting some time with a Doctor beforehand to: discuss any concerns I had; make sure my bloods had been checked; ask any questions that I'd thought of; warn me of any side effects to watch for, that sort of thing......but no, it was a case of sit in the chair, nice nurse comes over and jabs a cannula into your arm, checks your date of birth, take two vials of blood first, then starts the infusion.
I'm sure she said something about my bloods being used for checking next time...and I didn't say anything but thought, not likely. I know my bloods need to be done AFTER the infusion, not beforehand. I know they need to be checked 24-48hrs before each infusion - there is no way they're going to use 'old' blood - surely?....Anyway, not a problem because I'll be dealing with that nearer the time.
During this first infusion I asked her 'What are the side effects of this drug?'....she replied 'None'.
Hmmm, that's definitely NOT what the manufacturers website says - so, me being me, asked some more questions. 'Are you sure, all drugs have side effects don't they?'.....She then said 'Usually you don't have side effects with this drug' - I then told her I'm NOT usual, I was removed from Chemo after just two days due to toxicity problems....she smiled and said 'You'll be fine, nothing to worry about' and wandered off. That's good then.......I'll be fine and I don't need to be informed of anything to watch out for!
Sarah was with me and we sat there for a while just chatting and finding things to laugh about, quietly because no-one in there makes any noise at all - it's quieter than a library building! Drip, drip, drip infusion all done after about half an hour - followed by a quick flush through (sterile water) and then we were free to leave after making the appointment for the next one in four weeks time...but no appointment for a prior blood test?
Hmmm, I'll be doing something about this nearer the time but it never ceases to amaze me how much I've had to educate myself on my treatments, how much I have to check and double check, how many times I have to chase things up that need doing. It's all getting a bit (lot) irritating now.
Tuesday evening I still had a strange taste in my mouth, but nothing untoward was happening.
I did increase my pain meds Tuesday night as the pain did feel slightly more intense than earlier - but I'd been out doing things, walking around, sitting around, being jabbed.... so that was probably the cause rather than any 'immediate' side effects :)
Going to break the rest of what's been happening down into other posts - or this one will end up just too long
Here's a couple of pictures that Sarah took whilst we were in the unit.....
Saturday, 7 January 2012
In a calmer place.............:)
I'm back.....calmer and back in control. Over the past 5 days I have experienced a wide range of emotions, despair, disappointment, rage and now calm. A quiet calm really and an overall acceptance of what will eventually happen.
I think that if I was religious I'd feel that maybe 'God' or someone was looking over my shoulder and calming me down - but I'm not religious in any way so I reckon I'm just a tough nut :)) Once I get the emotions sorted in my own head I can deal with whatever comes my way. That's me and how I do things and how I'll continue to do it......Pain though, that's a whole different ball game, dealing with the physical pain is much harder than sorting out the emotional pain....
So, my immediate aim now is to get some relief from this ongoing pain.
On Tuesday I have my first session of intravenous bisphosphonate and this may assist in relieving some of the draining, sickening pain in my bones. I will also have some bone cement put into my spine at some point over the next few weeks - again the aim is to reduce the pain and strengthen the bones. Neither will stop the cancer from spreading further, but it may help to make the spread slow down - because the bone will be tougher to 'eat' through.
Monday morning I need to get bloods done to make sure they can go ahead with the infusion on Tuesday.
On Monday afternoon I'm seeing a Macmillan nurse at home - she will be sent from Trinity Hospice (gentle reminder that all donations (no matter how small) are very gratefully received by them - link on the left if you'd like to help them, help me. Many many thanks to the many people who have already donated and helped me reach £600 currently raised)...
We will discuss pain management and other things. She asked me when we spoke if she could bring a Social Worker with her, for emotional support for me and the family, but I said no to this. I have an army of people around me who can give me emotional support both in real life and cyber life. I'd rather the Social Worker's time was spent on people who do not have the network that I have. Neither Rab or Dj want outside help at this point.
Then that's it for this week - just rest up for a few days after the treatment which can give me side effects such as
and wait for this next one..........so funny......
On the other hand, maybe I'll be lucky and sail through this treatment with NO side effects - I'm long overdue a break here :)
I've decided to resign from acting in films, but I'll leave you with a famous actor's quote........
"I'll be back"!!!
Much luv and catch up soon xxXXxx
I think that if I was religious I'd feel that maybe 'God' or someone was looking over my shoulder and calming me down - but I'm not religious in any way so I reckon I'm just a tough nut :)) Once I get the emotions sorted in my own head I can deal with whatever comes my way. That's me and how I do things and how I'll continue to do it......Pain though, that's a whole different ball game, dealing with the physical pain is much harder than sorting out the emotional pain....
So, my immediate aim now is to get some relief from this ongoing pain.
On Tuesday I have my first session of intravenous bisphosphonate and this may assist in relieving some of the draining, sickening pain in my bones. I will also have some bone cement put into my spine at some point over the next few weeks - again the aim is to reduce the pain and strengthen the bones. Neither will stop the cancer from spreading further, but it may help to make the spread slow down - because the bone will be tougher to 'eat' through.
Monday morning I need to get bloods done to make sure they can go ahead with the infusion on Tuesday.
On Monday afternoon I'm seeing a Macmillan nurse at home - she will be sent from Trinity Hospice (gentle reminder that all donations (no matter how small) are very gratefully received by them - link on the left if you'd like to help them, help me. Many many thanks to the many people who have already donated and helped me reach £600 currently raised)...
We will discuss pain management and other things. She asked me when we spoke if she could bring a Social Worker with her, for emotional support for me and the family, but I said no to this. I have an army of people around me who can give me emotional support both in real life and cyber life. I'd rather the Social Worker's time was spent on people who do not have the network that I have. Neither Rab or Dj want outside help at this point.
Then that's it for this week - just rest up for a few days after the treatment which can give me side effects such as
- Flu type symptoms, (high temperature chills and muscle pain)
- Drop in calcium levels
- Red or sore eyes
- Anaemia (symptoms include feeling very tired and breathless)
- Headaches
- Feeling nauseas and vomiting
- Osteonecrosis - previously healthy bone tissue in the jaw becomes damaged and dies
and wait for this next one..........so funny......
- INCREASED BONE PAIN !!! ............lol, good job I'm back in my calm place so I can find the humour in that one :)
On the other hand, maybe I'll be lucky and sail through this treatment with NO side effects - I'm long overdue a break here :)
I've decided to resign from acting in films, but I'll leave you with a famous actor's quote........
"I'll be back"!!!
Much luv and catch up soon xxXXxx
Thursday, 5 January 2012
Starring role in a film now.........
Yes, that's right.....I'm currently playing the lead role in a film - a science fiction film I think where time travel is a complete possibility.... either that or I'm playing the part of a woman who was involved in an accident of some type and suffered total and complete amnesia for 9 months!
I'll explain........Monday night I went to bed thinking that as much as cancer is pretty crap, and getting a terminal diagnosis is even crappier, at least I've got 18 months or so to sort everything out but by Tuesday morning I was sitting in my Oncologist office having a discussion about my bastard cancer, about how it has now decided to spread to my right hip (wasn't there in October but now is and is causing me intense pain) and he explained that what this now means is that my life is now limited to around 6 months - possibly 9 months, maximum.
Fuck that!........I lost 9 months by just going to bed one night - so since then I've decided to stay awake and stay out of bed. It's obviously not a safe place to go anymore - you end up being catapulted 9 months into the future and you don't remember a thing about it.....
That's it for now.......everyone who needed to know in advance of this post knows.... My boys are heartbroken but both are being brave and doing their best to cope with this shite.
I've cried tons over the past 2 days with various members of my family and friends and now I just have to get on with doing things that need to be done - update the will, write notes about where to find insurance stuff etc, plan my burial in advance, organise my retirement from work and attend the tons of medical appointments that are now stacked up for me - none of which will save or extend my life in any way.
My favourite saying is still 'Bastard cancer' and I doubt that will change...it appears to be the only certain thing left in my life now - that cancer was and is a total complete bastard!
I make no apologies for using this language - what I've said off here is far far worse. How can anyone look at their 12 yr old's face crumple whilst he bites his lip so hard to stop himself from breaking down in tears and not feel like swearing about this bastard cancer.....
More when I'm in a calmer mood I think :)
Much luv to all - oh and one last reminder, Trinity Hospice will now be supporting me with pain management and enabling me to stay at home with my family for as long as possible. The link is still there on the left hand side of my blog, if you feel that you've got a spare £2 or so you'll be directly helping them to help me.
Back soon with a more informed and less abusive update :) xxXxx
I'll explain........Monday night I went to bed thinking that as much as cancer is pretty crap, and getting a terminal diagnosis is even crappier, at least I've got 18 months or so to sort everything out but by Tuesday morning I was sitting in my Oncologist office having a discussion about my bastard cancer, about how it has now decided to spread to my right hip (wasn't there in October but now is and is causing me intense pain) and he explained that what this now means is that my life is now limited to around 6 months - possibly 9 months, maximum.
Fuck that!........I lost 9 months by just going to bed one night - so since then I've decided to stay awake and stay out of bed. It's obviously not a safe place to go anymore - you end up being catapulted 9 months into the future and you don't remember a thing about it.....
That's it for now.......everyone who needed to know in advance of this post knows.... My boys are heartbroken but both are being brave and doing their best to cope with this shite.
I've cried tons over the past 2 days with various members of my family and friends and now I just have to get on with doing things that need to be done - update the will, write notes about where to find insurance stuff etc, plan my burial in advance, organise my retirement from work and attend the tons of medical appointments that are now stacked up for me - none of which will save or extend my life in any way.
My favourite saying is still 'Bastard cancer' and I doubt that will change...it appears to be the only certain thing left in my life now - that cancer was and is a total complete bastard!
I make no apologies for using this language - what I've said off here is far far worse. How can anyone look at their 12 yr old's face crumple whilst he bites his lip so hard to stop himself from breaking down in tears and not feel like swearing about this bastard cancer.....
More when I'm in a calmer mood I think :)
Much luv to all - oh and one last reminder, Trinity Hospice will now be supporting me with pain management and enabling me to stay at home with my family for as long as possible. The link is still there on the left hand side of my blog, if you feel that you've got a spare £2 or so you'll be directly helping them to help me.
Back soon with a more informed and less abusive update :) xxXxx
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
'We Ruled Cancer'.... Christmas 2011.........
Firstly, many thanks to Alice for the idea of the post title - it works perfectly :)
A few days before Christmas it finally hit me that Christmas was literally a few days away and I was NOT organised at all. I do tend to leave things until the last few weeks anyway, always, but this year I was down to the last few days then I motivated myself to get a few things done. Somehow, we pulled it off :)
Everyone had something to open, Dj had a small pile of presents to open, we had food in the house, crackers - and a turkey (thanks James!) and it all just fell into place.
Christmas day was really lovely.....Mum and Dad, Sarah and Manolis, James and Leanne plus Rab, Dj and me together for the day. Cancer was 'banned' from the house for the day, it was not discussed or mentioned (as per my wishes) and at no time did it manage to rule the house - WE ruled Cancer and it was banished to the back burner - Yay to us :)
I got some lovely presents, in fact I got everything I'd mentioned or asked for. This is a 'first' - usually I'd tell Rab I like a certain perfume (hint, hint) and I'd get something like a cookbook! LOL..this year I got exactly what I'd mentioned plus other stuff I hadn't asked for at all - but would have done if I'd thought about it. Also got other lovely presents from family and friends - including a really soft snuggly dressing gown from James and Leanne that has already had tons of use :)
James took Dj out shopping the weekend before Christmas to get presents for me and Rab and, with his big brothers help, he made some great choices - thank you James, for everything as always xxXxx
In the evening, my friends Jacqui and Pat came up and we all sat around eating and drinking until around just after midnight. Throughout the day I kept topping up my pain relief and kept things under control...and when not really under control, I just ignored it as much as I could. My brother Eddie also came up in the evening after spending the day with his two boys - so by Christmas night we were all together in one room - perfect end to the day :)
Boxing day is always a 'pyjama' day in my house. We tend to just chill out and do little, eat whatever we fancy and watch TV or go through Dj's presents with him. Terry and Lorna popped up around lunchtime with their lovely little boy, Owen. He's guaranteed to put a smile on your face, a real little character who finds the simple things 'fantastic' - bless :)
The rest of the day was spent doing little and I rested during the afternoon. I'd taken so many painkillers by this point that my body decided it was bedtime at 3pm! So I slept a while then we watched TV in the evening.
On the Wednesday evening, Jacqui and Pat invited us to their place along with Sarah and Manolis for food and drinks. We had a really nice evening with some lovely food - thank you Jacqui, for everything :)
On New Years Eve Rab cooked a lovely meal and Sarah and Manolis came over to us until around 11pm then they set off up town to see the London fireworks (which as usual were fantastic, Rab and I watched them at home on TV, warm and dry and no hassle getting home afterwards).
New Years day Mum and Dad came over for dinner and we just relaxed at home after stuffing ourselves full of Roast beef, yorkshire puddings and all the trimmings. We finished off with coffee and cakes after dinner and I'm sure I managed to put on another half a kilo :)
I don't make New Year's resolutions - simply because no-one ever keeps them. If I did, it would be to be back here this time next year still annoying you all - LOL :)
Now.........back to reality :(((........Hospital appointment with Oncology tomorrow morning to review recent scans that were done just before Christmas - then hospital appointment on Wednesday with colorectal team to review 'things'...
Have made some decisions about work which I'll cover in another post and after I've discussed them with the boss. Have made some other decisions too about things I want to/would like to do but this would be after the bone cementing takes place and IF it worked to relieve the pain a little. Again, I'll cover these more in future posts...
Catch up soon - and again, Happy New Year to all of you. Massive thanks for all the support over the past year, it's been so appreciated.
Also BIG THANKS to everyone that has donated to Trinity Hospice - thanks to Running Man (you know who you are) today I reached my target of £500....
I'll now up this to £1,000 over the next few days - so if you know of anyone looking to donate to a worthy cause please do point them in this direction. Every single pound makes a difference. Huge thanks from me and from Trinity Hospice who appreciate the support immensely.
(Mum took some photo's over Christmas which I'll add to this post tomorrow evening).
A few days before Christmas it finally hit me that Christmas was literally a few days away and I was NOT organised at all. I do tend to leave things until the last few weeks anyway, always, but this year I was down to the last few days then I motivated myself to get a few things done. Somehow, we pulled it off :)
Everyone had something to open, Dj had a small pile of presents to open, we had food in the house, crackers - and a turkey (thanks James!) and it all just fell into place.
Christmas day was really lovely.....Mum and Dad, Sarah and Manolis, James and Leanne plus Rab, Dj and me together for the day. Cancer was 'banned' from the house for the day, it was not discussed or mentioned (as per my wishes) and at no time did it manage to rule the house - WE ruled Cancer and it was banished to the back burner - Yay to us :)
I got some lovely presents, in fact I got everything I'd mentioned or asked for. This is a 'first' - usually I'd tell Rab I like a certain perfume (hint, hint) and I'd get something like a cookbook! LOL..this year I got exactly what I'd mentioned plus other stuff I hadn't asked for at all - but would have done if I'd thought about it. Also got other lovely presents from family and friends - including a really soft snuggly dressing gown from James and Leanne that has already had tons of use :)
James took Dj out shopping the weekend before Christmas to get presents for me and Rab and, with his big brothers help, he made some great choices - thank you James, for everything as always xxXxx
In the evening, my friends Jacqui and Pat came up and we all sat around eating and drinking until around just after midnight. Throughout the day I kept topping up my pain relief and kept things under control...and when not really under control, I just ignored it as much as I could. My brother Eddie also came up in the evening after spending the day with his two boys - so by Christmas night we were all together in one room - perfect end to the day :)
Boxing day is always a 'pyjama' day in my house. We tend to just chill out and do little, eat whatever we fancy and watch TV or go through Dj's presents with him. Terry and Lorna popped up around lunchtime with their lovely little boy, Owen. He's guaranteed to put a smile on your face, a real little character who finds the simple things 'fantastic' - bless :)
The rest of the day was spent doing little and I rested during the afternoon. I'd taken so many painkillers by this point that my body decided it was bedtime at 3pm! So I slept a while then we watched TV in the evening.
On the Wednesday evening, Jacqui and Pat invited us to their place along with Sarah and Manolis for food and drinks. We had a really nice evening with some lovely food - thank you Jacqui, for everything :)
On New Years Eve Rab cooked a lovely meal and Sarah and Manolis came over to us until around 11pm then they set off up town to see the London fireworks (which as usual were fantastic, Rab and I watched them at home on TV, warm and dry and no hassle getting home afterwards).
New Years day Mum and Dad came over for dinner and we just relaxed at home after stuffing ourselves full of Roast beef, yorkshire puddings and all the trimmings. We finished off with coffee and cakes after dinner and I'm sure I managed to put on another half a kilo :)
I don't make New Year's resolutions - simply because no-one ever keeps them. If I did, it would be to be back here this time next year still annoying you all - LOL :)
Now.........back to reality :(((........Hospital appointment with Oncology tomorrow morning to review recent scans that were done just before Christmas - then hospital appointment on Wednesday with colorectal team to review 'things'...
Have made some decisions about work which I'll cover in another post and after I've discussed them with the boss. Have made some other decisions too about things I want to/would like to do but this would be after the bone cementing takes place and IF it worked to relieve the pain a little. Again, I'll cover these more in future posts...
Catch up soon - and again, Happy New Year to all of you. Massive thanks for all the support over the past year, it's been so appreciated.
Also BIG THANKS to everyone that has donated to Trinity Hospice - thanks to Running Man (you know who you are) today I reached my target of £500....
I'll now up this to £1,000 over the next few days - so if you know of anyone looking to donate to a worthy cause please do point them in this direction. Every single pound makes a difference. Huge thanks from me and from Trinity Hospice who appreciate the support immensely.
(Mum took some photo's over Christmas which I'll add to this post tomorrow evening).
Sunday, 1 January 2012
Happy New Year to all
Just a quick post to wish you all a very Happy New Year.
Update to the blog, to tell you all about our Christmas, in a day or so - but for now just sending out New Year wishes to you all.
Much luv xxXxx
Update to the blog, to tell you all about our Christmas, in a day or so - but for now just sending out New Year wishes to you all.
Much luv xxXxx
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