Peter’s Hospital Diary

I have just realised that it is over a week since I last posted, and I really don’t know where that week has gone! I suppose it has been quite busy work wise, and the weekend was quite eventful, catching up with things and taking Felicity off to the station on Sunday for a week at the Chelsea flower show, running one of the restaurants there.

The weekend was good, Saturday was another milestone birthday for the last of our ‘gang of four’ (this was Gabor’s of Electrical Language Podcast fame) so we gathered in the pub for lunch, followed by an afternoon in front of a DVD and then an evening with friends Sue and Mark.

But this all seems very normal, for which I am very grateful, and another indication that I am getting my life back!

Onwards and upwards!

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First of all, the photograph promised last week has arrived and shows (on the right) Elaine and Jon (Jon from University days) on our drive Saturday week ago. He hasn’t changed very much!

The week since I last posted has been fairly uneventful – uneventful that is until the weekend when another Wedding Fair organised by Felicity was held at The Royal Navy Submarine Museum at Gosport. Like the one held recently, this was a great success with over 320 visitors through the door to see over 40 exhibitors!

After that event on Sunday, I drove back to the flat for another week at work!

On a personal note, I have categorised all the recent posts as “Getting my life back” and reading the last few posts it really does feel as if life is slowly getting back to normal – hence the title. Of course ithat normailty isn’t the same as it was, but a new normality, so I am very grateful for that. So on that note, I am hopeful that I will continue “Onwards and Upwards”!

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Yesterday morning’s ECP went uneventfully, as usual and I now only have one more double session left! I was on a small kit again, but the time seemed to pass quickly and I caught an early train back home (complete with sunglasses) but as the sun set, I left to return back to the flat – only getting halfway there when I remembered that I had intended to go to the dive club – by then it was a little late!

So it was back to work today, and then I’ll be going back home tomorrow for the weekend, but it has a been a good and upbeat week, so we continue Onwards and Upwards!

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As the title says, today was a day of checks and ECP, but I did say that I would write about the Bank Holiday weekend.

Saturday was a lovely sunny day, so I got a few outside jobs done, starting with a climb up onto the roof to refix the TV aerial to the chimney. Its a long way up and it was quite odd trying to pass lashing straps round the chimney stack, but it all went without a hitch and while I was putting the ladders away, it was an opportunity to sweep out the garage, and also run up the generator for a test. Those who don’t know about the generator, I described it here and here. Anyway, it started and operated without any problems!

We had a visit from Jon and Elaine in the afternoon. Jon was the other flatmate at University, and although we are in contact, e mail, Christmas cards, it is over 20 years since we last met up, so it was good to see him and catch up. There is a photograph, somewhere, so Jon, if you are reading this in Spain, please send it!

We had a reasonably leisurely Sunday, but in the late afternoon drove up to Oxford for a birthday party, given by another friend from University, Faith. A great evening at it was really good to meet up with some other friends from University, Tom, Barbara and Dina and their spouses. We have seen each other from time to time over the years, (and I was at Tom’s birthday bash last year) but we again had a catch up. It is true that the friends you meet at University where you share the ups and downs remain friends for life. They all rallied round when things were tough over the last few years, and I guess their influence when we were younger has helped shape me – so a heartfelt thank you is in order.

We went back to the flat, and then met up again at Faith’s on Monday. A slightly smaller gathering, but the time flew by in very convivial company. So thank you Faith – a very good ‘bash’!

Today I was up bright and early for two days’ of hospital. It started in the lung function laboratory – no results yet, but it seemed to be OK. Then down for the haematology check up with Dr Kazmi. Nothing untoward apart from a slightly elevated platelet count, attributable to the recent cold. I also saw Rachel, the dietician. I have put on a little more weight (67Kg) and my grip strength at 38.8 Kg is only 200gr lower than average, so that is good too. Perhaps time to start a little gentle training, and who knows, perhaps diving might be back on the agenda … 🙂

I took my notes over to St Thomas’s, using that as an excuse to travel on the staff bus, where I happened to bump into my original consultant, Robert. We had a long chat on the trip across London – it has been a while since I saw him.

ECP was uneventful, day one today, with the second session tomorrow morning. But this is the penultimate session, the last one is next month and then it is just monitoring, although if the GvHd does flair up again, I can have more – but the important thing is that it is under control – and I must say I do feel good!

So… Onwards and Upwards!

Tags: ECP, GvHd

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It has a been a busy week, and a good weekend, and lots to talk about, but I am off tomorrow for a couple of days ECP, so it can wait until then.

However it is a year today since fellow blogger John died from an infection and from the side effects of GvHd after his stem cell transplant. It was partly as a result of his experiences that persuaded me to undergo the ECP to control my own GvHd. I have re-enabled the link to John’s blog (although the blog itself is still available anyway) should any of you wish to re-visit it.

John, you may be gone, but you are not forgotten.

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Well strictly speaking, the oral surgery department. The good news is that saliva production is better than last year, so there has been some recovery of the salivary glands that were affected by the radiotherapy (over three years ago!) – whether or not there will be any further recovery is hard to say, but the problem isn’t nearly as bad as it was. I came away with a prescription for a high fluoride toothpaste (there is a risk of tooth demineralisation with a dry mouth) and some Saliva stimulating tablets (they taste a bit like citric aid drops, but contain other minerals to prevent enamel erosion). However I was given the go ahead to eat lemons – provided they are diluted with tonic water (and gin!) 🙂

So that was the day – this evening I had been planning to go down to the dive club for the first time in some months. As my strength has improved, my thoughts are turning once again to the underwater world, although there may still be a few hurdles to overcome before I get there. Still, it will be another significant step in ‘Getting my life back’. As it was, we ate rather later than planned, so I have postponed the visit to next week.

One other thing – the computer threw a hissy fit sometime today, which is why the blog was unavailable. It all seems OK now – it had been running for about 90 days non-stop, so perhaps it just needed a rest!

Still, Onwards and Upwards!

Tags: GvHd

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Well, not quite true because there is still a bit of residual sniffling, but I am certainly feeling a lot better than I was this time last week, and this cold has certainly cleared up a lot quicker than the last one – perhaps my immune system is getting stronger as my physical strength improves? Certainly my weight is still creeping up!

A few hospital visits in the pipeline. Tomorrow I have an appointment at the Oral surgery clinic to review the dry mouth problem (it seems to be getting slightly better, but an objective test may confirm that) and then next Tuesday I have a lung function test, followed by a haematology check up, then ECP in the afternoon and following morning. This will be the penultimate ECP session – hard to believe that it is twelve months since I started the course of treatment!

The weekend was quiet (after the previous one with the the Wedding fair) and the sun shone, which is always a bonus. Pity it has gone a bit colder since then, but after a wet day yesterday, the sun is shining again today!

So in all respects… Onwards and Upwards!

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Another busy week again, because after the Easter Bank Holiday, it was catching up at work, and then rapidly into the weekend – and the third Hampshire Wedding Fair! Yes it is that time of the year again and once again Felicity organised the biggest Fair so far – with over 320 people through the door to see nearly 60 exhibitors! And after a wet week, the weather turned sunny and warm! Perfect!

The weather has stayed warm so far this week, but I seem to have caught another cold. The last one lasted 3 months (or the symptoms did) and it only seems to have been gone for about six weeks so I hope this one doesn’t linger.

But the sun shines (hard to believe that 8 weeks ago the roads were covered in ice), spring is busting out, so Onwards and Upwards!

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Not momentous, but it is five years ago today that broadband came to my village after 6 months of campaigning!

For those that don’t remember, prior to 2003. broadband was limited to large centres of population, and those of us that lived in the sticks only had dial up internet access either through a normal line or ISDN.

The criteria was demand – the more people that asked at BB, the better the chances of getting it, so people started drumming up support to get interest registered in the hope that their exchange would be enabled. A smart team at BT capitalised on those efforts with support, a forum and promotional material, and working with BT, the campaigns eventually changed the BT policy so that all exchanges were enabled – and mine was one of the first under the new policy.

One of the highlights of the campaign was being invited to the BT Tower in London for a reception, the pictures show the view from the top, and me with the then head of broadband marketing. A good evening!

It is hard to realise at a time when as I have nearly 8Mb/s at home, and I am writing this connected through a high speed mobile network that then 512Mb/s was considered fast. We have come a long way, and I am quite proud to have been a small part of it!

Onwards and upwards! (in speed among other things!)

Tags: Tech stuff

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Happy Easter to everyone reading this – and as a symbol of both Easter and Spring, I took this photo early one morning from the bedroom window in my flat.

It was a quiet week at work, after the ECP I went home then drove back up to the flat for a day in the office on Wednesday. However there is quite a lot happening at the moment so I was also in work on Thursday before driving back home for a long weekend – a weekend to do my tax return and sort out a few other taxing bits and pieces. One unexpected consequence of renting the flat (through the company) is that it is deemed a benefit-in-kind for the nights I don’t stay there on the grounds that it is available for use, but not being used for business purposes! Hmm – first time I have ever been charged for not using something. I wonder if MPs are subject to the same rules on their allowances?

But that apart, it was a good move and I am eating better and relax more than I did in the hotel, so all in all a good thing. Talking of weight, I have just sneaked up past the 10st 8lb mark, so I hope I will reach my target weight of about 11 1/2 st by the end of the year.

Next weekend sees the third Hampshire Wedding Fair. Preparations are well advanced, but it will be a busy time!

I have renewed my diving club membership, and I have a lung function test coming up, so provided that is OK and my strength continues to improve, I hope I will be able to resume diving again. Still, one step at a time!

So on that note, and despite the damp weather…

Onwards and Upwards!

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