Peter’s Hospital Diary

Seems to be no end to sad news, as I am sorry to tell you that Simon died on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning after his long battle with lung cancer. I had spoken to him only a few days earlier, and although he sounded frail, he was quite cheerful, and I misread just how far down things had progressed.

We first met during the BT Broadband Campaign in 2003/2004 and although that came to a close in 2005, we remained friends and he was very supportive to me during some difficult times. He was diagnosed just under four years ago, but after an initial operation seemed fine and we met up a couple of times in London for a beer or two, when our visits coincided. The last one was about 4 months ago. He will be missed, and my thoughts are with Christine and his family.

Update – just had this from Simon’s family:

Back in the mundane…

My contract ended yesterday, I was out for a curry last night, and we are meeting up for a farewell drink at lunchtime today. There is still a possibility of another contract later on, although it is looking less likely now than at the start of the week, and I need to make a decision about the lease on my little flat. However I have a week to decide, and as it is on a monthly rolling lease, even that could be deferred for another month.

So I shall go home either tonight or tomorrow morning and have a look at the list of household jobs!

Onwards and upwards.

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The lovely weather continues! I was in Wales over the weekend, a very pleasant drive across the second Severn Crossing. The weather was perfect – although I had to be careful not to overdo the exposure to the sun.

My contract ends tomorrow. Although there have been actions to try to renew it again, they have so far been unsuccessful, so it looks as if I might be spending a little time in the garden, and there are also some household jobs that need to be done. 🙂

Another sad note though. Those of you who know Simon (BT) will remember that he has also been fighting a cancer battle. Sadly, things are not going too well for him, so please remember him in your thoughts. While he was a strong proponent of ‘Onwards and Upwards’ I fear that is not an appropriate comment at the moment.

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The Dental Access Centre seemed to have done a good job, but over the weekend, (lovely weather – just right for a Pimms and a BBQ) I got the feeling that the restoration had failed. I was able to make another appointment at the clinic, who reassured me that the filling was still in place, and that the bit that I thought had failed was just a bit of surplus flashing from the restoration margin. A relief, and I didn’t actually need any treatment – although I still had to pay another fee for the ‘time elment’ Ah well, I suppose it was worth it for the peace of mind.

I had meant to write this earlier in the week, but I received some sad news over the weekend when I learned that my friend Jane was about to be admitted to a hospice, having battled for over eighteen months against bowel (and subsequently liver) cancer. Her condition had suddenly deteriorated, and she died on Tuesday evening.
I had first met Jane at University, but we had lost touch in the intervening years, until she heard about this blog. Having read about my health problems, she asked a mutual friend if I would mind getting back in touch with her when her diagnosis was confirmed.

I was glad to do so, and we had many chats and three trips up to Yorkshire in the subsequent months. We knew some months ago that there was no cure, and at the last visit we both knew that it was the last meeting, although we spoke as recently as last Saturday, before she was admitted. It was a sad moment, but one tempered by that fact that all that had to be said had been. But she will be missed, not only be me and all her friends, but by her immediate family, Paul James and Michael.

But, as Jane would be one of the first to say, we continue – onwards and upwards.

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It was another good weekend, starting off with a chilli evening with Sue and Mark, and having a little play with Mark’s Ipad! Saturday was a bit of a DIY day, starting to put up some shelves for Katie, who having finished her finals is moving back home and starting a job in Basingstoke next week. It was also Katy’s birthday yesterday, but we celebrated it on Sunday with a beach hut party on the sands at Bournemouth. A bit breezy, but very sunny, as my sunburned knees showed when I got back to Corsham! Strange weather too – bright sunshine one moment, and torrential rain the next, and clearly an area of high pressure as French radio station burst through loud an clear at one point on the journey!

My contract ends in just over two weeks, and while there is the possibility of an extension, it isn’t certain, I hope I’ll know by the end of the week.

My tooth is starting to be troublesome, in that the edges are rough, but I have found a Dental Access Clinic in Chippenham, for those that either need emergency treatment or don’t have a dentist, so I hope they will fix the problem, and spur me into getting a more permanent arrangement.

But that apart, all seems to be well, so…Onwards and Upwards!

Tags: Social

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Pity about the weather – too good to last! ECP went well, although the early Sunday morning start meant that I had to travel up on Saturday evening for two nights in Gassiot Hpouse at St Thomas’s. Not too bad although the street noise on a Saturday is pretty bad, and of couirse I lost an evening at home! But we did clean up BBQ for a bit of al fresco cooking! The ECP itself was uneventful, and on completion I nipped downstairs to the eye clinic.

The considered opinion is that I don’t have conjunctivitis in the infectious sense, but I am suffereing from mechanical abrasion caused by the dry eyes, another GvHd symptom. I have upped the artificial tear regime, and I also got a prescription for another artificial tear – eyelube which, I’m told, “stings a bit”. I’ll find out tomorrow when I collect the prescription from my GP, but the more frequent use of the artificial ears has helped. I have another appointment with my optician tomorro, so we’ll find out if there has been an improvement.

I was at a trade exhibition yesterday looking at shiny web applications – which was interesting, and back in the office today, and back home again tomorrow afternoon.

And I need to find a dentist. I seem to have lost a filling – but finding one is not easy :(.

Still – Onwards and upwards!

Tags: ECP, GvHd, Social

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Just realised that another ten days have passed – although I have enjoyed reading the comments on the last post – congratulations to Gilian!

The bank holiday weekend was a bit chilly – however I took Rachael into Southampton to book a six week adventure trip to Australia to round off her gap year, before she starts at Cardiff University in October. Sunday was a little damp, but the weather was a bit better on Monday when I took a quick trip up to Yorkshire with friend Faith to see Jane – our friend from University who is unwell. We had a good afternoon with her in Huddersfield, before nipping over to Harrogate to see other friends from that era, Dina and Chris. I finally dropped Faith off in Oxford at just before midnight, and got back to Corsham just under an hour later. A long but very good day.

This week has seen the weather improve – always uplifting! I am taking Rachael backpack buying this afternoon when I get home, and then I am off to London tomorrow evening for an ECP session on Sunday morning, with the second on Monday morning – before going to the opthalmic clinic on Monday afternoon.

I’m pleased that the conjunctivitis seems a lot better, but it will be something I want to discuss at the clinic. I hope I’ll be able to start wearing the contact lenses again soon!

So all ticking along quite nicely… onwards and upwards!

Tags: Social

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A little cooler this morning, here in Corsham, so I hope that wasn’t the totality of summer! But it was a glorious weekend, although Saturday was spent doing some work, while Sunday saw me getting to grips with the vagaries of Corporation Tax! Last week was uneventful, although the conjunctivitis has still not cleared up, but I have a check-up with the opthalmic specialist at St Thomas’s next week, so if it hasn’t gone then, he might be able to suggest an alternative anti-biotic. However, although there is occasionally a little discomfort, and I can’t wear contact lenses, it is of little practical consequence. It is certainly a lot better than it was.

Delighted to see that Richard is back commenting (no idea about the Firefox spell checker! 🙂 ) and also to hear from Simon (BT) again!

So with another Bank Holiday approaching… Onwards and Upwards!

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Not necessarily for me, but watching events unfold in the political arena. Interesting times!

On the home front, we went down to a family wedding in Cornwall – I drove home from Corsham on Friday afternoon in time for an optician’s appointment when it was confirmed that I had conjunctivitis, so that meant a quick trip to the doctors top get a prescription for some eye drops.

Once that was done it was off to Cornwall (Lostwithiel) arriving at about 9:30. It was my youngest cousin getting married, but it was good to see them all and catch up on family news. On Sunday we popped over to see my Uncle, and then it was the long(ish) drive back home – before I set off back to Corsham!

I drove home again on Monday, ready to travel up the London on the Tuesday morning for my haematology check up. I had just bought my ticket and paid the car parking charge when I had a call saying the Dr Kazmi (consultant) wouldn’t be there (but other members of the vteam would be). However, just before I got into Waterloo, there was another call saying that he was now in!

The check was fine – nothing untoward, apart from my immune system and this persistent niggly cold. I left with a prescription for more anti-biotics and the possibility that I may have an immunoglobulin transfusion to give it a bit of a boost.

Back to Corsham for three days then back to the optician’s where it seems I still have mild conjunctivitis (although my eyes are a lot better now) but not as severe as the week before.

Olivia (now 3ys 4 months!) stayed over on Friday night but much of the weekend was spent finishing off the work on the client’s server – and then back to Corsham. It seems I may have left hospital with more than a prescription as I have the snuffles back again!

One little landmark – this is my 450th blog entry!

Still, a relatively minor thing, so “Onwards and Upwards”

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I started this entry on Tuesday with a tag line of “So that was the Bank Holiday weekend!”, but I didn’t quite get round to finishing it, and I was away in London yesterday.

It was a good Bank holiday though. On Saturday we nipped up the road to Odiham for a friend’s Birthday Party – great to see Sheila and Philip – friends from our Plymouth days – along with other mutual friends from that era.

Sunday was a bit damp and was spent at home, trying to do my tax online – which wasn’t a success! Monday was a bit brighter, but I spent some time configuring a client’s fileserver (part of an ongoing project. I also had a minor accident with a cup of coffee and an open filing cabinet! Fortunately not too much paperwork was affected and of that, a lot was fairly old and needed a sift through anyway.

I returned to Corsham on Tuesday morning, and went back home on Tuesday evening, ready for an appointment at Guys on Wednesday.

I also had some end of year paperwork to return to HMRCS, so I made a start on that on Tuesday evening, although not helped by a bit of ‘flaky’ software (supplied by HMRCS!) that prevented me from completing the return, although on Wednesday morning I discovered a ‘patch’ for it, and manged to complete it. One job completed, before it was time to nip down to the station and get the train.

This appointment was for for one of the minor check-ups by a specialist looking at specific GvHd areas. No problems – a 90 minute journey up to Guy’s, a 30 minute wait for a 15 minute appointment, and a 90 minute trip back – next appointment in six months! It was also an confirm my next haematology appointment – which is next Tuesday.

I had a bit of time at home before driving back to Corsham, so I completed another little job, a Companies House return, then it was back to Corsham for another couple of days before going back home tomorrow for an eye check and a weekend in Cornwall for a family wedding (a cousin).

So a busyish week, but generally onwards and upwards!

Tags: GvHd, Social

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It is a stereotypical damp Monday morning here in Corsham, which is a bit of a let down after the lovely weather of last week. I went home on Thursday night, ready for my trip up to London for the ECP on Friday and Saturday. The ECP was uneventful, although I left it a little late leaving for the station, fortunately the train was 10 minutes late!

The journey back on Saturday was longer than normal, with part of the journey (between Basingstoke and Eastleigh) completed by bus. Still, all done and dusted for another six weeks or so, although there are some other check-ups in May.

And that really is it. We went out for a drink with Sue and Mark on Saturday evening, and I came back to Corsham last night.

So – Onwards and Upwards!

Tags: ECP

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