Peter’s Hospital Diary

Yes, I’m beginning to get a bit bored now! Today has been quiet!

After a drip free day yesterday, I had a new bag put up at midnight and the infusion has continued throughout the day. For some reason I didn’t have bloods taken this morning (must check that) but apart from the drip change and regular OBS, the morning was quiet.

I had a couple of phone calls from friends this afternoon and a visit from Rachael (daughter) who brought me some Percy Pigs and a bag to take my stuff home in tomorrow. I say tomorrow, but there has been no confirmation of that – I guess it depends on the blood results.

Lunch was quite good and supper sounds interesting (bell had just been rung) but those have been the highlights of a rather humdrum day!

Hmm – I spoke too soon, my supper came without desert (rice pudding and jam) still, I had had a yoghurt instead – so a sensational end to a quiet news day! 🙂

Still… “Onwards and Upwards” 🙂

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A very quiet day! The drip was removed in the early hours while I was asleep – and I must have been deeply asleep because it didn’t wake me! I was expecting to be reconnected during the day, but it wasn’t, although I still have the cannula in place.

My blood pressure was a bit high, and that has been dropping throughout the day, so my guess is that the excess water is being flushed out taking calcium with it. I did have bloods taken this morning, but obviously nothing to give concern – or enough to restat the infusion.

So a lazy day, I feel quite perky, listened to the radio and generally relaxed.

So Onewards and Upwards 🙂

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Just after I had written up the blog for yesterday, my chauffeur driven wheelchair was summoned to to take me for an ultrasound scan. Once I had advised the radiologist to stop looking for my spleen (it was removed 19 years ago!) I asked if he cared to share an opinion, he confirmed that there was indeed a mass (!) but more importantly it didn’t seem to be attached to any abdominal organs. He did think it was probably lymphoma related, with an outside chance that it could be a sarcoma.

After transport back to the ward, Rachael popped over to get a list of things I might need and just in time for the consultants visit. The haematology team are definitely veering towards the lymphoma route. However they want to do a biopsy and PET scan first – probably on Monday, so I will be here over the weekend!

I slept fitfully last night – about 2 hours at a time interspersed with a race to the loo complete with IV stand!

Consequently I was a tad washed out this morning and spent most of the morning dozing! (Well I can, so why not?) A junior member of the team popped in to explain was was happening and to confirm the the CT scan results correlated with the ultrasound.

The blood test this morning should that the creatinine and calcium levels are moving in the right direction, and my blood pressure is the highest it has been for some time!

Rachael came in this afternoon with a few goodies shower cream – much better than the China Pharma stuff I was given, some squash – makes drinking water far more pleasurable and (most important) a phone charger!

One big improvement is the WiFi coverage! If you read back to 2006 I was using a dial up modem through the hopital switchboard whoops!) or pointing the laptop out of the windo to latch onto any unprotected WiFi network :).

Only thing is that the WiFi won’t let me log into the blog so 4G to the rescue!

And I spotted this at the top of the building – I think it’s a mobile phone mast can’t quite be certain

One other thing I forgot to mention is that a shot of LMDH (low molecular ddensity heparin) is given at night to reduce the risk of blood clots. As an old hand at self administering those, it’s been fun getting my eye back in!

I’m now having fluid out put monitored, roll out the collecting bottles! Actually quite good as I don’t have to dash to the loo with IV stand in tow!

I feel somewhat relieved that we are closing in on a diagnosis as it means treatment plans can be formulated. Of course it’s a blow as well, life has taken a big turn for the better, so I hope that this is just a blip on that path.

So… Onwards and Upwards

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It’s a bright morning here in London, and I noticed that while the decor may have changed, hospital routines have not! I have taken some photos of the view from my window

and

Not the best view, the new cancer centre is on the left (I have now found a way to compress the files)

So with 2 litres of IV saline going in, I have re-discovered my skills at pole dancing with the IV stand every time I need to move more than 4 feet away, and the early morning wake up just as you finally get into deep sleep!

While the food has improved, it still doesn’t run to a cooked breakfast!!

Overall I feel fine though, routines this morning included an ECG, regular OBS, bloods and a chat with the ward pharmacist.

I’m still not clear about when I will be discharged – if I need more fluids I may be in for another night, but that will depend on the blood results.

Clothing might be a problem, but I hope my daughter can pop to the shops if required!

So all well and… Onwards and Upwards!

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So it seems that my blog posts are like buses – nothing for ages, then two come along at once! So what, you might be asking, am I doing at Guys, on the Hedley-Atkins Ward in the evening of the second day of the New Year? Read on and I shall explain!

You will recall that I had a check up about seven weeks ago and all was fine, but about 3 weeks ago I noticed a lump near my navel which looked s bit like an umbilical hernia.

I made a an urgent appointment to see my GP who thought there was something else going and referred me to Winchester Hopital to see the Colo-Rectal Consultant and to have another blood test as my Creatine levels were high. She came to conclusion that it wasn’t bowel related related, but that a CT scan would yield more information.

Meanwhile I had given the Guys team a heads up and they brought my next review forward from May to January 9th – and then when my CT scan date was confirmed, forward again to today.

The scan was on Monday but when I arrived today the results hadn’t been sent through – however I had a full set of bloods (amazed I still have any left!) and a comprehensive examination which showed that I didn’t have any enlarged surface lymph nodes (groin, armpits) – which is good news! I will probably have another PET scan in the next couple of weeks – I think my 23rd!

So I was sent on my way but instead of catching the next train, I called in to have lunch with youngest daughter. While there, I had a call from Guys asking where I was and could I come back for urgent treatment to reduce high blood calcium levels. And here I am, admitted overnight in Hadley Atkins Ward opposite Samaritan Ward, where I had all my transplants 12 to 20 years ago.

It feels strange but oddly reassuring to be back, a lot has changed! The ‘shabby chic’ (more shabby than chic) retro look of the 1960s has gone as the wards have been completely updated. The food, about which I had strong opinions – see ‘About…Hospital Food’ – is tasty and cooked in the hospital premises instead of being sent by slow boat from St Thomas’s and then re-heated. I have just had beef goulash and Plum and Apple crumble. So it seems that the catering department has realised and embraced the notion that hospital food is meant to promote patient recovery, not hinder it!

What hasn’t changed are the wonderful nursing and medical staff.

As for me, the last three weeks have been a worry, especially as my personal life in the last three months as taken a decided turn for the better.

So in time honoured tradition,

“Onwards and Upwards”

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Well, four years since I last updated the blog – and it has actually been offline for a lot of that time. This has been for two main reasons – the first was that I made some major changes to the software which stopped the blog software from working properly, and as I said in the last post, I felt that the blog had done its job.

Medically, the last four years have been largely good, although three years ago a small lesion on my leg proved to be a skin version of the old foe – and while that was treated successfully with localised radiotherapy, it was a reminder that there is something lurking, and I need to be ever vigilant. It might have been the result of stress from the divorce – who knows. As a result I went back to Guys hospital (I had been at Kings for the late effects clinic) for 4 monthly check ups, which have now gone out to 6 monthly. The last one was two weeks ago, where I saw Karen, one of the wonderful specialist nurses that looked after and treated me over the years.

Guy’s itself has a brand new cancer centre, treating all forms of cancer, including blood cancers, although there are still the specialist haematology clinics. This was first mentioned here.

My personal life is on a far more even keel, so the tag “getting my life back” is pertinent on many levels! Life is good!

Reading back through the blog brought back many mixed emotions – at times it is hard to believe I was writing about myself. As I said to Karen, most of my memories are positive – although reading about the itraconozole and some of the food brought back less pleasant memories so maybe my (now reading) glasses really are rose tinted!

There is some sadness too – reading about people I knew who are no longer here, Elspeth, Simon M, and others.

The blog only covers 2006 onwards, but of course I was diagnosed in May 1999 – nineteen and a half years ago. Over time I have seen my children grow up – two married and all with successful and varied careers, and of course my granddaughter – now aged 11.

I have been very fortunate.

So – onwards and upwards! 🙂 click here to go to the start of the blog

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So after my last post in October, I am making good with my promise to catch up on the previous few months, so I am making good my promise!

New year 2014 stated well, I had friends staying and we went to Winchester Mill on New Years Day. This is a National Trust property and is a working water mill – and to prove it I bought some flour milled there. The resultant bread wasn’t bad, although the bread maker found it hard going as the flour is quite dense. That was all the excuse I needed to buy a Kenwood mixer in February!

New Year continued with a visit to Mottisfont Abbey, another National Trust property. The seasonal theme was “The Snow Quuen’s Ball” with decorated trees. You can see the rest of the photos in the gallery. As you can tell, it was a lovely sunny, if rather chilly, day!

Apart from the excitement of the mixer, February was quiet, but I continued my National Trust theme with a visit to one of my favourite NT properties, Uppark. This mansion was very badly damaged by fire over 20 years ago just after some major renovations, however it has been restored (in some areas rebuilt) using traditional methods. There has been debate over whether it is reproduction or restoration, but either way, it is a stunning house high on the Suffolk Downs.

So forging a new life continues – onwards and upwards!

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That I have neglected the blog for nearly twelve months :(. I suppose on one side it demonstrates how much I have moved on from the original reason for the blog, to keep me occupied and to chart my progress through long periods of hospital treatment and the subsequent trial, tribulations during the recovery phase.

So, the last twelve months has been busy. I have photos for many of the events, but too many to put up in one post, so I’ll do a series over the next couple of weeks.

However in summary, Christmas came and went, with a trip to Switzerland. I went on a dive trip to the Red Sea in April, and a camping/diveing trip to Devon in May. I have been up to stay with friends in Lancashire, and caught up with old school friends. I also have a new project in the offing – more of that in a later post. I had solar cells fitted to my house, and a few other things! so I have been busy. On the health side, I am on more or less annual check-ups, although I seemed to get booked into the wrong clinic, and the appointment frequency went up for a while! My eyes are still a bit dry, but the cataract operations were a great success, and my distance eyesight is very good.

So very much upwards and onwards – and watch this space for some updates coming up soon!

Tags: Diving, New life!, Update

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Time I wrote up a bit more blog – a fairly busy three or four months! So first bit of news is an attempt to get a bit physically fitter. The reason for this is linked to diving! I had ben hoping to go on a diving trip with the dive club to a site down in Cornwall, and one I have been to several times in the past. However, the rules for ex military personnel diving with service clubs on sponsored trips have changed, and I now need a Health and Safety medical! (This doesn’t apply to private dives, or other diving activities).

The HSE medical contains a physical fitness test, so in order to pass that, I have joined a gym, with a view to spending about an hour a day their, five days a week, concentrating on building up my cardio-vascular strength and a bit of muscle development. I have been going for just over there months now, and noticed a significant improvement on both CV performance and body strength, so I hope I’ll be able to pass the medical soon. Of course, getting fitter has other benefits too, I just needed the motivation! Best effort so far on a treadmill is running 1.5 miles in just under 12 minutes!

I have also ventured into the world of Apple in that I have built myself a computer running Apple’s operating system. The generic term for this is a ‘Hackintosh’ and it works pretty well. It runs most of the Mac software, and includes ‘Bluetooth’ so I can connect my (non-Apple) phone to it to transfer photos etc. It also connects to the server here (in fact I re-housed the server, and used the older server case to house the ‘Hackintosh’. Maybe not the best photo of the case!

The weather is getting colder as we get towards the end on November and it is getting dark by about 4:30 pm. Still, nights start getting lighter in a month or so! :). With Christmas looming, I have bought my first mince pies of the year – I ought to pluck up courage and make my own!

It has been good to catch up with some old friends too, one from my time in the Falklands over 13 years ago! (When I was last really physically fit!)

But overall, I’m feeling OK, still looking for some work, but nothing much around in my field.

So very much onwards and upwards!

Tags: Computing, Tech stuff

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Oh dear, I really have ignored the blog for the last few months.

I guess the highlights of the summer were the Graduation of Rachael from Cardiff University, and me (a day later) with my Master’s degree from Cranfield University. Both days were warm and sunny, and for both of us the culmination of a lot of hard work.

The summer has been fairly uneventful. I am adjusting to my new life, I did a little bit of diving, this one taken at Swanage on Swanage Pier on another lovely sunny day.

Garden wise I had another lovely crop of runner beans, although again I was late planting them, the last flush will be picked in the next few days. I have already put away the garden furniture.

I have made progress in sorting out the stuff in the garage, some items have gone to a new home (middle daughter Katie has just bought a house) and that gave me space to move in there, which meant I could unearth more things for recycling! Still a way to go though!

The nights are drawing in though, and there is a definite chill in the air. Still there are things to look forward to, holidays next year for example.

On the health front, things have been good. The cataract operations have been very successful, and my general health has been good – well, at least up until last week, when I caught the first winter cold. I have also decided to get myself a bit fitter, partly because it is a good thing in itself, and partly because to continue diving with military personnel on expeditions, I need a Health and Safety diving medical, so I need to get fit to pass that. So I have joined a gum, and until this week I have been going there for about an hour a day, 5 days a week, with a varied fitness programme. It is beginning to show results!

What else? Oh yes, a quick trip to Amsterdam to a trade show where I was operating a video camera for a friend while he was conducting interviews with some of the exhibitors. This may generate a little bit of income, which will be a bonus, as there hasn’t been a lot of paid work about.

But all in all, it has been a good and busy summer – and so.. Onwards and Upwards!

Tags: Diving, New home, New life!

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