So all going well - and in traditional form - onwards and upwards!

It has been cold today and we have had the first open fire of the season, but I am now pretty much packed for an early start tomorrow morning back to work - with the rest of the week in the hotel. I think I know what the Wi-Fi problem was, so I hope I will have a bit more success this week!

Anyway, on that note - Onwards and Upwards!

The hotel is near the office, and more convenient than travelling backwards and forwards each day. I seem to be settling in, the project is interesting, so I hope the contract lasts beyond the initial three months!

Onwards and upwards!

I had my monthly dose of ECP on Monday and Tuesday, followed by a quick call in at the day unit at Guy’s for another NPA, then it was back home for an early night for an early start for my new job! The location is about 75 miles away, so it is quite a commute, and for the first three days I have been travelling daily. However it means a really early start, and a late return, so I have booked myself into a hotel this week, and I shall be going up this evening. The hotel will be a little more expensive than driving (in terms of fuel) but better for me as I won’t need a six o’clock start for the ninety minute to two hour journey! In following weeks I will probably travel up early Monday morning. Anyway, it is good to be doing some work, the job looks interesting, and although it is currently a short contract, I hope it will be extended later.

I haven’t heard anything back from Guy’s, so I guess the NPA was all clear!

So lots of new and interesting things - very much O&U!

Tomorrow I am up in London for two days of ECP, and also to have my cold monitored. I am still a bit snuffly, but I hope it isn’t anything serious - don’t need any show stoppers at the moment!

So lots of changes and new things to do - very much Onwards and Upwards!

Many thanks to Mark for posting the update, I was looking for available wireless networks, but couldn’t find any!

The stay itself was uneventful - a bit of hydration, a couple of big doses of imunoglobulin to give my immune system a boost, and three lots of drug given by a nebuliser (lasting 2 hours a time) a day to actively fight the virus!

It felt really strange being back as an in-patient. I was in a side room on Hedly-Atkins ward - opposite Samaritan where I had the transplants. I suppose it felt odd because the last time I was in hospital for anything like this was the trip to Southampton - nearly two years ago - and all that happened around that time, and I suppose psychologically I have placed all that in my ‘old life’ and with new beginnings on the job front etc, it was a bit of a reminder! However it all passed uneventfully- the only worrying bit being that the staff came into the room wearing respirators and goggles to protect them against the nebuliser fumes that I was breathing directly!!

The nurses where great - it is always invidious to name names, but Ahmed and Suzy were great fun - but thank you all!

One other thing I noted was the food. I have been fulsome in my criticism of the hospital food system, but I noticed a dramatic improvement in the quality! Food now appears to be supplied in bulk and plated up on the ward, so it doesn’t sit there drying out on plates in transit. Much better!

While I was in hospital, I had a phone call offering me a job on the basis of the interview I attended last Monday (2nd) which I have accepted and I start next week!

So on all fronts - Onwards and Upwards!

Feeling well, expect to be in for another 2-4 days. Tests tomorrow to see how well the treatment is going. Biggest problem is boredom. But the good news is that the food seems to have improved.

Treatment - nebuliser three times a day. Immunoglobulin to support the immune system while the nebuliser attack the bugs!

Unfortunately no internet access but I will respond when I am back home!

On the domestic front. tme seems to be flying by at the moment - with quite a lot happening. Socially we had a lovely evening on Saturday - thank you Tim and Ingrid, although since then we seem to have caught some cold (possibly from Vicki, who has been suffering along with Olivia and Tom (although if course in my case it will be man ‘flu - another reason for not staying up!). I also spent some hours up in the attic fixing an overflow pipe, which triggered a few aches and pains working in the confined space!

Things on the employment front looked up at the end of last week, with an e mail on Friday saying that a prospective client would like to interview me on Monday. That seemed to go reasonably well, aklthough I haven’t heard anything since. However the big event was the trip to Guy’s yesterday for the check-up and the results of the PET scan - which was clear! Big sigh of relief, although I was telling myself that if it hadn’t been, I would have heard by now!

The cold/’flu was noted with concern, so I had the by now familiar NPA and an anti-biotic prescription. It also seems that my immunoglobulin levels are still low. Immunoglobulin is made by B lymphocytes, and while I have plenty of those, they don’t seem to be working that efficiently. They should pick up over time, but in the meantime I am going to have a transfusion of them to ‘tide me over the winter’. The transfusion takes about 5 hours and the effects last about 10 weeks, so I am going up next Tuesday. I wasn’t too keen on the idea initially, but I think that is a psychological thing - I am keen to get on with new things and this is a reminder that I am still not quite recovered! On the other hand, liver function markers were all good and generally I am considered to be in good shape!

I also saw Rachel, the dietician, (briefly) who was pleased to note my slow weight gain!

So all in all - Onwards and Upwards!

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!