Peter's Hospital Diary

Well it was certainly snowing on the M1 last night as we made our way back from Bletchley Park, home of the wartime code and cypher breakers. A really fascinating and enjoyable day out although it was bitterly cold. We spent the day there, but still lots to see, so we will have to make another trip. The photographs show the front and back of the reconstructed ‘Bombe’ – the large electromechanical calculator that enabled the initial settings of the enigma machine to be determined – by trial and error! What is now termed a ‘brute force’ attack.We also saw the re-constructed Colossus machine – really the first ‘proper’ computer used to break some of the other codes. This was in the museum of computing, which also held many examples of early computers, ranging from main frames, through to the famous DEC PDP series to the PC – including the Sinclair spectrum!

The journey back was pretty grim, lots of snow and heavy traffic, so it took nearly 90 minutes longer than expected, but just in time to watch “Spooks” – entertaining (but not very plausible) – but far removed from Bletchley Park!

On a sadder note, I got back to find an e-mail saying that my Godfather had died in New Zealand. He won’t be known to any of you, but a very kind and good humoured man that I remember clearly from childhood. He, together with my father, were probably the influences that got me interested in electronics and electrical engineering, so he had a significant effect on my life. He and his wife Eileen (and son Richard) emigrated to New Zealand when I was about ten, but he came back to visit in 1994 – coincidentally during a period when I was confirmed, and I was delighted that he could attend the confirmation service which pleased him greatly. He had been ill for sometime, but still very sad news.

I heard from Guy’s this morning – slightly alarming as it was the haemotology department, but it was only to tell me that the clinic days have changed, so my next visit is now on Tuesday, not Thursday!

So Onwards and Upwards!

6 Comments »

It has been another busy week – one where I haven’t been at home much!

It started on Sunday when I flew up to Manchester with Neil (another LeukaemiaCARE trainer) to stay with Suzanne (another LeukaemiaCARE trainer!) and her husband before we all drove up to Glasgow on Monday morning for Elspeth’s Funeral.

The funeral itself was a true celebration of a life well lived, and although it inevitably had its sad moments, it was not the mourneful occasion that it might have been. We drove back to Manchester on Monday afternoon, and Neil and I flew back to Southampton on Tuesday morning.

I was up at St Thomas’s on Wednesday and Thursday for more ECP. Uneventful – no dizzy spells or fainting, and I left in good time to get the train back home!

The sun is again shining as I type – although it is getting cold, and don’t forget that the clocks go back one hour to GMT on Sunday morning! Time to put the heating on! (and get out the Winter Pimms!)

Onwards and upwards!

4 Comments »

And indeed it is a lovely morning – the sun is streaming in through my study window as I take a quick break from my next piece of coursework. However it has been a few months since I last posted a picture of Olivia – now 21 mionths old! One of the problems is that she is so lively it is difficult to get a good photograph of her, but here are a couple I took earlier this week, on Monday, just after Felicity returned from her trip to Uganda.
The week has been tinged with sadness after the news of Elspeth’s death last weekend, but I have been keeping her blog up to date and I will be going up to the funeral on Monday.
I have finally succumbed and created a Facebook account – interesting technology, although I’m not sure that for the majority of my use it will replace the telephone or e mail – still, got to keep up with things!

No news from the hospital about the PET scan, so on the basis of ‘no news is good news’ I am cautiously optimistic.

I am once again pondering the future of this blog. While I still enjoy writing it, it has moved away from its original purpose of keeping everyone updated about my treatment and the subsequent recovery, in recent months. Does it still have a purpose? I’m not sure, although I’m receptive to any comments!

Onwards and Upwards!

5 Comments »

As I look out of my window this morning, the mist is just gently drifting in the trees at the bottom of the garden! Not sure if there is much mellow fruitfulness left though, as we seem to have had a few deer getting in from the fields behind.

It has been a quiet week although one tinged with sadness. I had been planning to go up to Glasgow on Saturday to see Elspeth, a good friend from LeukaemiaCare, and one of the training team. Sadly she died on Saturday morning, about eight hours before my flight was due to leave. She had been ill for some time, but it was only 10 datys ago that we had had a very lively conversation on the ‘phone. The link takes you to Elspeth’s blog, and the many comments that have been posted there.

Felicity returns from Uganda tomorrow. She has been out there with her brother who is involved with supporting a school there. Meanwhile neither Rachael nor myself have starved, and Felicity’s mother is settling into her new home about 20 minutes away.

So although a week with sadness in it, there have been some good and positive aspects too.

Onwards and upwards.

2 Comments »

I can’t believe another week has gone by, however the time has flown by. Felicity went off to Uganda on Friday, and her mother completed her move into her new house on Monday. I went up to St Thomas’s for my next session of ECP on Monday, and also had a check up at the dermatology clinic.

Monday’s session of ECP was OK, apart from the last collection cycle. I am on a ‘large kit’ which means that the machine takes 3 lots of 250ml of blood for processing, but during the third cycle I felt really faint and woozy, and my blood pressure dropped! It had been low to start with, perhaps because I was a bit dehydrated. Anyway, I soon recovered and went off to the clinic.

The feeling is that I have responded well, my mobility is a bit better and so after the next session I will be going up monthly. The feeling is that the progression of the GvHd has stopped and that further treatment will keep it under control and may reverse some of the damage done – so I may get more mobility back. I can certainly stretch much further.

Tuesday’s session was uneventful, except that I was back on a small kit – six lots of 125ml blood, so it took a bit longer to process.

No news from the PET scan, so on the basis of no news is good news…

Onwards and Upwards!

2 Comments »

Off for PET scan number 22! (I had to go back over some previous posts to check – and they were interesting – and scary – reading!) Sadly Margaret, the centre manager, was away, but the procedure is pretty routine – injection of the tracer, rest for 90 minutes, then under the scanner. One thing I did notice was that I was unable to lift my arms up over my head which is the usual ‘pose’ for the scan. This was tangible proof of some loss of mobility, however having my arms by my side was a lot more comfortable.

I have been suffering from a bit of a cold and a sore throat, so before the scan I rang the day unit at Guy’s to see if I should go over. However my notes are at St Thomas’s at the moment, so I was advised to go up to the day unit at St Thomas’s. It was quite pleasant going back as all my initial treatment was there, and I saw Debbie, one of the nurses who looked after me on Samaritan ward. Sadly all haemotolgy is moving to Guy’s and the day unit will be closing. It isn’t in a very good location as it is surrounded by laboratories, and the consulting facilities are limited – but the views are good! I was seen by a new (to me) Doctor, Jenny, who pronounced my lungs clear, but prescribed some Co-Amoxiclav (an antibiotic) as a precaution.

So a quick trip to pharmacy and I was on my way home. Now I have left the Navy, I pay all my travel and prescription costs – so first thing this morning I was buying a railcard, and I am looking at the pre-payment certificates for medicines!

I expect to get the results on my next routine visit – unless there is anything untoward, when I expect i will get a phone call!

But in the best traditions… Onwards and Upwards!

4 Comments »