Tuesday 29 September - 1st day of week 3

I spent all day at Addenbrookes today due to the chemo not being on the ward when I turned up at 09:30.  So I had a very peaceful day reading a copy of The Times that someone else donated to me, starting a great book called 'Unapologetic' by Francis Spufford and sleeping for an hour and a half in the afternoon.  I finally got my chemo at 12:30 and escaped at 5:00.  Today I had the cyclophosphamide which comes in large syringes which have to be pushed very slowly into the Hickman line while a 4 hour bag of saline is also running, as well as the much quicker Cytarabine.  The former is weird as I get a strange taste in my mouth as soon as any of it hits the bloodstream, but the taste dissipates as the drug goes in.  Other than that, no immediate side effects other than the usual feeling of being sandbagged (hence the nap).
Tomorrow I am going to drive myself to the hospital for the first time.  Exciting!

Sunday 27 September - yay, it's the weekend!

This is the first day of my weekend - no chemo now until Tuesday. 
Yesterday I spent 4 hours at Addenbrookes having the short chemo and then two units of blood, each of which take 1.5 hours to run.  I was borderline for needing the blood (haemoglobin count of 88 for those who know about these things) but as they wouldn't be seeing me again for a couple of days they decided it was sensible. 
Today I feel remarkably well (perhaps the blood has something to do with that) so I thought it was about time that you could all see for yourselves that I look well too. I am now half-way through this block of chemo and seem to be standing up to it well.  The anti-sickness drugs are very effective and one a day seems to be enough.  My digestion was somewhat affected but the doctor has prescribed something for that which also seems to be working.  My swollen left arm (DVT around the Hickman line) has gone down and so far I still have my hair, though I think it might be getting slightly thinner.  I don't sleep all night but at least when I do wake up (3 or 4 times a night) I go back to sleep pretty quickly.
Today I managed a half hour walk in the sunshine (with hat and suncream) and also made chutney this afternoon ably assisted by Andrew's mother.  And I haven't needed a nap.  So things are good.
As I walked round the village this morning I was struck by the beauty of the autumn colours that are just starting to show in the trees - I am very fortunate to have such a beautiful place to walk.

Friday 25 September - intrathecal no 2

Although I spent wuite a while at Addenbrookes today it was very pleasant.  Andrew dopped me off just before lunch and Eleanor came down from London to meet me, have lunch and sit with me in the afternoon while I had the second intrathecal.  It was great to see her and hear about all her plans - including the great news that she and a friend have won Arts Council funding for some work in Bristol in November.  She was great company and the time went very quickly.  The intrathecal was slightly less pleasant as the doctor manged to touch a nerve while doing it - no lasting discomfort though.  Thanks to Kim for the lift home.

No apologies for posting pics of tonight's dinner - it was fabulous.  Yorkshire trout fillet panfried with almonds, with pommes duchesse and asparagus.



 

Followed by nectarines fried in butter and finished with demerara sugar, cinnamon and cream sherry.  The juice was delicious on the natural yoghourt too.

Thursday 24 September - ooops, missed a day!

Sorry for not posting yesterday - not much to report.  It was an early visit to Addenbrookes: left home at 08:00 and was back here by 10:20 (thanks to Phillip for lift in and for waiting and bringing me home).  Felt really quite chirpy until just after lunch when the chemo sandbagged me and I had to take a nap!  It's incredible - one moment you feel quite normal and the next you can barely keep your eyes open and are liable to fall asleep wherever you are (apparently the Cytarabin has this effect on a lot of people, so one of the nurses told me).  I woke up just in time for a visit from an old friend who used to live in the village.  She has just had a new hip this year and is embarking on an amazing Antarctic eco safari/cruise in October!
Today's hospital visit was equally straightforward - in at 11 and out at 1pm.  I also met up with a couple of the people I was an inpatient with.  It was good to see how they were doing and catch up with their news.  I was determined to be a little more energetic today so after lunch swept the crabapples off up the drive and cleared the windfall apples from the back lawn - slowly.  Nap followed.  However, I did manage a walk round the village after that and I do now feel a little more lively.
Looking forward to a visit from no 1 daughter Eleanor at Addenbrookes tomorrow.

Tuesday 22 September - Day 1 of week 2

Short chemo today.  The outpatient ward was very busy today but one of the nice things about going so frequently is that you get to know quite a lot of the other patients ro meet up with people who were inpatients at the same time.  So today I saw John, who has the same thing I do and is a week behind me in the treatment, and last Friday I saw Pat who was one of my room-mates when I was an inpatient.  I was able to check with Pat where she got her brilliant hat (Suburban Turbans).  Andrew took me in today and Yvette kindly came to fetch me while Andrew was out to lunch with a friend.

I thought we hadn't had a food photo for a bit so here is tonight's dinner - cottage pie and buttered spring greens.  I'm loving that we are into winter comfort food again.  Pudding was poached apricots.  Yum.

Monday 21 September - another quiet non-chemo day

It seems that no chemo on any given day means not as tired too.  I haven't needed a nap yesterday or today, though I probably will again tomorrow.  It was nice being at home and pottering around.  Sarah was home till the afternoon (very pleased because when she went to the optician this morning they finally figured out that she is short-sighted - she says it's nice that it has finally shown up on the tests) and I had a couple of nice visitors.  Dinner was risotto (difficult to photograph).
Back to Addenbrookes and the chemo tomorrow...

Sunday 20 September - quiet day at home with the family

Today was just what the title says.  Sarah and Rebecca turned up just before 12 noon for lunch.  Sarah is staying the night but Rebecca went home early evening.  It's been a lovely peaceful day and I even got some iPad consultancy from Sarah.

Saturday 19 September - flowers and chocolate

 This rose is what I see every morning when I open the front door.  It is called Iceberg and my mother gave it to us when we moved here 20 years ago.  It flowers all summer and well into the autumn, often only giving up at Christmas.  It's a great sight to be greeted by.
I had an early start for the hospital this morning, catching a lift with my neigbour to arrive around 09:30.  Today's treatment was two units of blood which took 3 hours and the chemo which took 10 minutes!  Out of the hospital just after 2:30pm.

The rest of the afternoon was given over to floral pursuits - carrying some stuff down to the church for Andrew and his mother to produce this lovely floral display for the Harvest Festival in church tomorrow.  They are very clever - my contribution was to admire and sweep up thebits afterwards!
Dinner is roast chicken with a baked potato, carrots and greens, preceded I hope by avocado.

Here is the chocolate from the title.  Totally unexpectedly a parcel arrived yesterday from an ex-colleague, Damian Eads, now in California.  It contained a dark chocolate tasting kit from Dandelion who make single-bean chocolate.  The chocolate was mind-blowingly good, thank you Damian!  I woud never have believed how different 3 bars of chocolate could taste and the lemon flavour in the 3rd one was my absolute favourite.  What a treat!

Friday 18 September - 1st intrathecal

Today's hospital visit was the 1st intrathecal chemotherapy.  This means that I had a lumbar puncture so that the doctor could remove 5 or 6 drops of spinal fluid for testing and then insert some chemotherapy straight into the spinal fluid.  The best bit of this is that you have to lie flat for an hour afterwards so I had a very pleasant nap!  I will have one of these a week for the next 3 weeks - every Friday.
The rest of the day has been quiet.  We were looking forward to welcoming an old friend for dinner (chilli) but in the end he had an urgent work need to stay in Herefordshire so we had to make do with fish and chips - battered cod loin and fresh chips from our own potatoes.

Thursday 17 September - quick hospital visit and long chat!

 I thought you might all like to see the view from the 10th floor of Addenbrookes that I get every time I go to E10.  The hole in the picture to the left is where the new Papworth hospital will be when it transfers to the Addenbrookes site in 2017.  Apparently the construction phase will last 32 months.
Below is the view past the massive cranes to the new settlement of Great Kneighton.  Between Addenbrookes and Great Kneighton is a new country park and also the railway line to Liverpool Street.

Apparently some of the housing at Great Kneighton has won an architect's award.  From the outside it still looks a little stark but I guess the greenery just needs to grow in. 
Looking the other way from the corridor outside E10 you get a view of the Gog Magog hills and the wind farm.
It was a really short visit to E10 this morning - all of 25 minutes.  So Andrew Gee (colleague who had popped down to see me) and I went and spent a happy hour or so over a cup of tea in the food court and had a long and wide-ranging chat (everything from PET scanning to Sheldon Cooper and a lot of stuff in between).
The rest of the day has included a nap, a walk in the sunshine, some email and now the pleasant prospect of chicken casserole and dumplings.

Wednesday 16 September - short day at hospital

Thanks to Tony and Avril for the lift in this morning!  It was a very short stay in the hospital today - arrived at 10:45 and out by 12:20.  Just one dose of chemo - a very small syringe full that packed quite a punch.  Once I got home before lunch I had a lovely chat with Rebecca (no 3 daughter) and after lunch I went for a nap and slept solidly for an hour and a half, waking up for a lovely visit from a friend over a cup of tea.

The house is full of lovely smells - Andrew has been making fresh bread again.  I don't know what we will be having for supper tonight but it may possibly include some of the large yellow courgette I found hiding under the leaves this morning.  Why is it that you always miss the ones that then try to become marrows?!

Tuesday 15 September - good news!

We saw the consultant this morning.  I am definitely in remission after the first phase of treatment and therefore she has started me on the next phase!  So I spent 4 hours this afternoon hooked up to a drip...I also came home with another bagful of drugs, for anti-sickness, anti-fungal, anti-biotic, etc etc. 
The next 4 weeks' regime is fairly intense - Tuesday to Saturday each week.  Sadly I will probably lose the purple hair during this phase and will likely feel even more tired.  But after these 4 weeks there will be a 2 week respite before the next phase.
So, that's the plan for the next 6 weeks sorted.
We are celebrating with 'cheesy spag' - a delicious spaghetti sauce of mushrooms, onions, garlic and bacon in a cheese sauce.  Pic below...

Monday 14 September - a good day

It was a good day because I escaped from Addenbrookes before lunch!  I had a lift in with a friend from the village (thanks Karen) and arrived as usual about 08:45.  Bloods were taken and I settled down with my laptop for a long wait.  Although I did not need any more anti-coagulants I did need another bone marrow test.  I am getting quite used to all these procedures.  It looks as though  I may start the next phase of chemo tomorrow, assuming the consultant appointment goes according to plan.  That means a full day at the hospital since the chemo will take 4 hours.
Had a nice lunch with Eleanor and Andrew and then a nap and then a walk with Eleanor in the village before she had to go back to London.  It was lovely to see her.
We slobbed out for dinner tonight - fish fingers, chips and peas - so no photo!

Sunday 13 September - peaceful

What a lovely peaceful day: breakfast with Gladys (Andrew's mother) wh had stayed over; walk to the shop in the sunshine to collect the Church Times; coffee; emails; lunch; nap...

This evening Eleanor came to visit - coming from Bristol where she has been performing - and we had a fabulous Indian dinner: chicken korma, lentil dhal, rice, beans and ginger. 
Lovely to see her!

Saturday 12 September

 I thought it might be time for a picture of the cook - Andrew dishing up tonight's delicious sugar-roast ham, home-made chips (from our own potatoes), Chantenay carrots, asparagus and mushrooms.  Followed by poached fruit.  Yum.

Today we had a visit from my sister Jean and my niece Mary.  They were here from coffee time until after lunch and it was lovely to see them.  Jean has brought me some short stories to read - just the thing for my slightly distracted brain.

It was a lovely day here and the grass has been cut and the windfalls picked up by a young man in the village who is raising money to go on a trip to Kenya at Easter 2016 with his school.

Food, glorious food

Just to prove that dinner is as good as I say - here is a picture of yesterday's main course.  The buttered Savoy cabbage was especially tasty!

Friday 11 September - a peaceful day at home

Started the day by meeting with another school governor to discuss a few things - really nice to do some brain work.  Then had a walk to the post office again and round to visit another friend in the village who is just home from hospital after having her broken hip pinned and plated.  Lovely to see her in her home surroundings, looking more relaxed.
After all this activity (!?) I slept like a log for an hour and a half after lunch while Andrew went to Morrisons and woke up just in time for a visit from Janice and Dave, back for a short visit from the Isle of Man where she is the Vicar of 3 parishes.  It was lovely to see them and to catch up.
In case you are wondering, this evening's dinner is baked cod, pommes dauphinoise, chantenay carrots and steamed cabbage, followed by poached plums or poaches apricots and nectarines with optional cheese if room.  Not surprisingly I have put on half a kilo!

Thursday 10 September

A day in several parts:
Part 1 - another morning spent in E10 in Addenbrookes having bloods taken and waiting to find out whether I needed more anti-coagulants.  The test for that has to go to a different lab, takes longer, and when the result comes back the doctor then has to order the drugs, which take an hour to arrive and need a doctor to administer them.  So I arrived at 08:45 and finally left E10 at 14:40.
Part 2 - dropped in at the Department of Engineering to pick up a 'high value item'.  It turned out to be a gift from my work colleagues in the form of an iPad Air with separate Logitech keyboard cover!  The iPad is even inscribed on the back 'To Rachel with best wishes from all your friends at work'.  Well, to all my friends at work I say a massive 'Thank you!' - I am overwhelmed by the generosity and the love and kindness shown to me.
Part 3 - a visit from Sue Billings, a friend I made years ago when volunteering in the Fairtrade shop in the Free Church in St Ives, which was lovely; Wiener Schnitzel followed by plums poached in red wine for dinner; a happy hour starting to set up the iPad with quite a bit of help from my Beloved (I may chicken out and read the instructions online!)

Wednesday 09 September - supplementary

I thought you might like to see the lovely view I get from my bed when I wake up from my afternoon nap most days (a little later today due to a lovely long phone call from my nephew Andrew in Manchester after lunch).

There are two apple trees outside the window - a Cox's Orange Pippin (very few apples) and a Howgate Wonder (loads of apples!).  At the time I woke up I could also hear the schoolchildren playing in the park opposite after school.

I'm looking forward to pork chops and roasted vegetables followed by stewed plums in red wine.

Wednesday 9 September - 1st walk out!

I have been for a walk!  I went out with Andrew this morning all the way round to the Post Office in the village and back - about 3/4 mile in total.  It was very odd to be walking out in the fresh air, but lovely.  We only met 3 people we knew on the way (this is a village after all) and caught up on a little bit of village gossip and school governor business.
I feel much more human today and have been attempting to do a few jobs (returning shoes that don't fit, tidying up a little in the living room, completing a few bits of paperwork).  I'm sure by after lunch I shall need a nap after all this effort!

Tuesday 8 September

A peaceful day at home, thank goodness.  We had a visit from Sarah (no 2 daughter) who has finally shaken off her cold and therefore thought it safe to come.  Lovely to see her, hear her news and get her to sort out my posting photos to the blog problem - thanks Sarah!  Also had an ex-work colleague of Andrew's to lunch and another friend round later, but all very stress-free. 
Have realised that I really need to tidy up some of the stuff I have brought home from hospital - made a small start by moving some of it to another room!  Have also indulged in a little bit of tidying in the kitchen - evicting some of the unwanted mugs from the cupboard for the NSPCC stall at the Gransden Show.
Heady stuff...

My birthday pics - 1st September 2015

Here are some pics from my birthday last week.  The pink jacket was a gift from my niece Mary and her family - goes well with the purple hair, don't you think?!  Two daughters were able to be with us, Rebecca (the redhead) and Eleanor with the sharp new haircut.  We drank the Bolly that Phil W had given me earlier in the summer - thanks Phil!

Monday 7 September

Well chaps!
I am let off being at Addenbrookes 3 times this week.  They are so pleased with my blood results that I only have to go again on Thursday this week.  Mind you, they did keep me from 08:30 - 13:00 before telling me that!  The problem is that they don't know whether I need more anti-coagulants until they get the blood results back and then they have to order the stuff...  Never mind, today it was useful because it allowed me to visit a friend on another ward where visiting only starts at 13:00. 
So I got home, had a nap and have updated the blog at last.
Still having trouble adding pictures - checked out the help menu but it still doesn't seem to work.  I'll have to wait for no 2 daughter Sarah to come and sort me out tomorrow.

Posts 29 August-6 September

Thought I'd fill you non Facebookers in on last week's posts...
Saturday 29 August
First day at home...woke at 06:30 and got up, went downstairs and did my email, then took Andrew a cup of tea (putting it carefully up a few steps at a time so as not to spill it). His first cup of tea in bed for over a month! The rest of the day has been lazier involving shower, breakfast, lazing around while Sheila George came and Rachel-sat so Andrew could go to Morrisons, lunch of boiled potatoes and butter and cold meat (my mother would have loved that) and then more lazing on the sofa. The Vicar and the Rural Dean have both popped in but otherwise we have been very quiet. Looking forward to asparagus and then cottage pie for supper and hopefully a good night's sleep.
I am hoping that I will be able to have a little walk around the garden tomorrow to admire the sunflower and courgettes and other things.


Sunday 30 August
Another good day though much more tired...
Woke at 05:30 and turned over for 2 minutes till 07:30! Andrew got his 2nd cup of tea in bed...I have definitely been slower today: much sitting on sofa, going back to bed for a nap after lunch, back on sofa now. Andrew's mother Gladys came over around noon and stayed for lunch and till about 5pm. We had fantastic baked salmon for lunch with saute potatoes and sugarsnap peas - I may not be able to eat much at once but I am really ...enjoying the variety of food Andrew is preparing. I hope he is enjoying my enthusiasm! No other visitors, but honesty today that was enough. I had a lovely nap after lunch and have just written a couple of cards and checked FB. I wonder what is on the menu for supper...It's been quite wet here so I didn't get my walk outside - it can wauit.
Tomorrow Phillip George is giving me a lift to my first outpatient's appointment. Andrew will pick me up when I am done.
Thanks for all the lovely messages...


Monday 31 August - first day of trekking to Addenbrookes for outpatient treatment
Phillip George kindly came at 09:15 to give me a lift to Addies. We had a nice chat about guitars and other stuff in the car. Outpatient appt was deeply dull - blood tests, 1 hour of anti-fungal drip and then hanging around waiting for the blood results so that they could decide whether I could go home or not. I was so hungry I went and raided Burger King for fries!
Andrew came to fetch me a...t just after 1pm and we had a very late lunch at around 3:30 after I had had an hour's nap.
Iain Strath and Anne came to visit and I am now contemplating supper - 'red' spag with pappardelle and a yellow courgette from the garden, followed by Boursin, which amazingly for a soft cheese is made with pateurised milk and therefore safe fro me to eat (sorry, food is high on my list of priorities at the moment!)
No appts tomorrow.


Tuesday 1 September - my birthday!
I have had a lovely birthday! I had some great cards and gifts (mention must go to the shocking pink jacket!), saw Eleanor and Becky for lunch (Spanish omelette), had a yummy Victoria sponge birthday cake (courtesy of Becky) woke from a snooze to find an old friend here for supper (Wiener schnitzel after a starter of avocado, salmon and cold pappardelle) and am contemplating sloping off to bed in the next half hour.


Wednesday 2 September

Today's appointment was a bit pants - I was there all day while they worked out that I had a thrombosis in the vein running along the left shoulder and down the left arm (thanks to Harley in ultrasound), and they then couldn't decide whether to do the bone marrow test yesterday or today. I arrived home about 6pm absolutely shattered and slept on the sofa for an hour and then went to bed about 9pm after supper. They gave me anti-coagulants for the thrombosis which have to be self-injected (ok, but more painful that the other injections I have). At least it meant that I was right to mention the tiredness and slight discomfort around the Hickman site.


Thursday 3 September

Another long day at Addies today - arrived at 08:30 courtesy of Hazel and finally escaped just before 5pm! I had a migraine when I got there this morning (my first ever) so they sent me for a CT scan to check that I did not have a bleed on the brain (I didn't). Finally got my bone marrow test after lunch - they had been waiting for the blood results and the CT scan - and then they sent me to ophthalmology to check that the leukaemia hadn't got into my retina (it hasn't). I was very pleased to get home and am looking forward to chicken breasts in lemon for dinner. I feel slightly less like a limp dish rag this evening and am hoping to only spend the morning at Addies tomorrow!


Friday 4 September
Short day at Addies today. In with Sheila Prest (thank you!), blood tests, anti-fungal medication, visit from colleague Adria, and home with Andrew at 2pm. Had a visit from a Guiding friend from Toft, Lucy, whose Aunt Phil had knitted the large colourful squares in my blanket of love. Looking forward to Spaghetti Bolognese with yellow courgettes from the garden.

Sunday 6 September 2015

Hello folks!


I have finally got around to setting up a blog to replace the one on our church page.  I shall post here abut my treatment and about anything else that takes my fancy.
Right now, I am sitting on my sofa (on the blanket of love) in my living room at home looking out of the window at the bird feeders hanging from the crabapple tree and listening to James Taylor's 'Walking Man'! 
It's been lovely to have a couple of days off from the hospital, just chilling at home, and seeing a few friends.