Saturday, we were up..a day out in London for me looking around buildings not normally open to the public as part of the Open House event, blue skies and sunshine. Steve took a later train from Oxford and joined me at Tate Modern where we met up with our friend Sarah for drinks and food and a good old natter. Excellent company as always :-)
Sunday, we were down. Steve's elderly mum in Bristol hit the panic button again and it was a real emergency this time. The wonderful grandchildren went to her rescue, called the emergency services and went with her to A&E where she has been kept in overnight for observation and tests. She's still there....
Today, we've been up and down - celebrating the good news that Mavis, a fellow meso warrior, has been told her condition is still stable, but feeling so sad to hear news from other meso warriors, Jan and Lou, that things are not so good. Such a roller coaster of emotions....
In the meantime life goes on. We had our flu jabs this afternoon to reduce the risk of Steve catching something nasty when his immune system is compromised by chemo; the man is coming tomorrow to tame the jungle that has taken over our garden so that the builders can reach the roof and do the repairs to stop the leaks that are getting worse; Bristol on Wednesday to meet up with mum-in-law's doctor who is scheduled to do a home visit...but will she be home by then?
Strangely, now we are in the run up to the start of chemo, Steve has been experiencing phantom side effects - occasional flatulence and burps (actually nothing new!); fatigue (probably due to a very late night on Saturday and all the stress of his mum going into hospital); "chemo" brain, when you can't concentrate or focus (not surprising given what's happened recently). He knows it's psychosomatic, but it's almost like he's preparing himself mentally for what he expects will happen. He's also started to tell me when he feels a bit breathless. Before he knew he was having chemo, he would say "I'm fine" if I mentioned that he seemed a bit puffed. I will have to think of some way of nudging him psychologically when he goes into "patient mode" mindset and back into fighting back mode, where he is in control. Any suggestions?
Sunday, we were down. Steve's elderly mum in Bristol hit the panic button again and it was a real emergency this time. The wonderful grandchildren went to her rescue, called the emergency services and went with her to A&E where she has been kept in overnight for observation and tests. She's still there....
Today, we've been up and down - celebrating the good news that Mavis, a fellow meso warrior, has been told her condition is still stable, but feeling so sad to hear news from other meso warriors, Jan and Lou, that things are not so good. Such a roller coaster of emotions....
In the meantime life goes on. We had our flu jabs this afternoon to reduce the risk of Steve catching something nasty when his immune system is compromised by chemo; the man is coming tomorrow to tame the jungle that has taken over our garden so that the builders can reach the roof and do the repairs to stop the leaks that are getting worse; Bristol on Wednesday to meet up with mum-in-law's doctor who is scheduled to do a home visit...but will she be home by then?
Strangely, now we are in the run up to the start of chemo, Steve has been experiencing phantom side effects - occasional flatulence and burps (actually nothing new!); fatigue (probably due to a very late night on Saturday and all the stress of his mum going into hospital); "chemo" brain, when you can't concentrate or focus (not surprising given what's happened recently). He knows it's psychosomatic, but it's almost like he's preparing himself mentally for what he expects will happen. He's also started to tell me when he feels a bit breathless. Before he knew he was having chemo, he would say "I'm fine" if I mentioned that he seemed a bit puffed. I will have to think of some way of nudging him psychologically when he goes into "patient mode" mindset and back into fighting back mode, where he is in control. Any suggestions?
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