Peter’s Hospital Diary

And here we are at the start of the bank Holiday weekend. It has been a lovely sunny week too, but true to form I see that the weather is due to break during the next couple of days! Overall, it has been a pretty uneventful week! On Wednesday evening I was going to the dive club, originally for a course on diving with enriched oxygen breathing gases (Nitrox) but it had been postponed until next week. And yes, I know that I am not medically (or physically) fit enough to dive at the moment, but I haven’t given up on that front!

And that leads neatly into the next topic… There has been a bit of introspection on this blog lately concerning the effects of the illness and the treatment, and in particular how it affects the ability to make both short and long term plans. This theme has also been echoed on John’s Blog which also reflects on the circumstances of his illness and how it has affected him, and also on Elspeth’s Blog. John in particular has very altered circumstances which has had long term effects on his life. Those changes have been less profound for me, but the greatest loss has been the lack of ability to plan, and in the darker moments there has been a feeling of “Is it worth starting this as I may not get to finish it”. Fortunately that feeling has soon passed! With that in mind, making these plans is an important part of ‘getting my life back’! So as part of that we have booked a holiday for the end of July, travelling down to stay with fellow blogmaster Mark and his wife, Sue, in their French Farmhouse. The first holiday we have taken for a couple of years, and I am really looking forward to it!

I have spent a bit more time in the garden – some of the lawn has been cut, although pushing the mower (it is a motor mower, but not self propelled) was an effort, and the longer grass at the bottom might be a bit too much. Again frustrating and a reminder that I still can’t do things that I used to take for granted! However the garden is looking brighter with the tubs and pots of bedding out plants.

I have also been e mailing a few long-lost friends about the events of the early part of the year and I was looking back at the blog postings for January. It seems very distant now, although it was only four months ago, but I have come quite a way since then. The thing that again struck me was the large number of supportive comments (those posts probably attracted the largest number of comments) so once again, thank you all for your support both at the time and subsequently, and all the crossed appendages! (Which I hope are still crossed for the ongoing recovery! )

On the health side, and despite the difficulty pushing the mower, I do feel stronger and I think I have put on a bit more weight. I think I look healthier too! However the best news is that my mouth doesn’t feel quite as sore as it has done. I have to be careful with hard or dry food such as dry toast or biscuits as they tend to be rough or stick into the inside of my cheeks, and lack of saliva makes chewing tricky, but things do seem to be getting better. One problem is that after so much food, saliva dries up and I can’t eat any more! I also find the same thing after exercise (even pushing the mower round) and I end up with a very dry mouth and sore throat. Still, it is slowly improving. My lips are still sore (very cracked and raw) and spicy or very acid food is best avoided (although Branston Pickle seems OK in small amounts) but it does mean I am drinking a lot of water with food, which is a good thing. However Rachael and I did enjoy a Chinese take-away last night, lemon chicken and sweet and sour king prawns. The sweet and sour was OK, although there was a limit to how much I could manage, but lemon chicken is definitely OK!

Finally, apologies for the lack of photos of Olivia! With Felicity being away and my returning to work for more days, I haven’t seen her this week, but I’m sure that will change at the weekend! Next task is to give the house a once over before Felicity gets home tomorrow!

Onwards and Upwards!