Fast Food / Supersonic Lunch

Jade Goody died on Sunday morning. Different cancers mean different fights and different situations but it's still tough to hear when somebody so young loses out.

Chemo 3 Plus-1-Week was much the same as
Chemo 2 Plus-1-Week - feeling pretty tired and lethargic at first but got better as the week progressed.

Today I'm feeling fine and we're off to see Concorde at the National Museum of Flight. I'm a big buff of Concorde and went to see it in the pouring rain the night in 2004 that it arrived at Torness and then the next day when it was towed across the fields to East Fortune. It's strange that I've never actually gone to see it in situ in the hangar, especially as it's only 10 minutes from my house. I wasn't disappointed - it's great and well worth a visit.

We didn't have time to go round the rest of the exhibits at the museum because we were booked for lunch at The Grange in North Berwick.
It was very nice - we'll definitely go back there.

A Stab in the Dark

Today's the day that I have to give myself the injection!
Now, millions of people have to, or choose to inject themselves every day for one reason or another, so there's no reason to suspect that I'll have any trouble - will I?
My mate Heidi and her husband have to inject their wee lad Roan on a regular basis - how scary must that be? Especially for him - he's only wee.
So let's get on with it.
Liesl acts as my 'sighter'. I pinch the inch, take aim, then, just as I described Eric Bristow earlier, I have one or two practice 'swings' and then . . . . . . JAB!
Straight in. Up to the hilt (about two centimetres), check that there's no kickbck of blood and . . . inject. Easy.
It stings a wee bit afterwards but nothing to cry about.
Told you I was tough.

Chemo 3 - Halfway There

It doesn't seem like three weeks but here we go again - off to Ward 1 for the third dose of magic potion. I gave a blood sample at the Doc's yesterday so there should be no delays this time.
Wrong!
There's always something but all in all, it took about four and half hours. Not too bad.
And I had my book and paper and crossword and sudoku and radio and iPod and magazine and kit-kat and crisps and juice to while away the time.
As usual though, I fell asleep for about an hour. Well - it's very warm in that room.
It's hard to believe that I'm already halfway through the scheduled treatment for such a serious illness.
Once again, I feel ok - I just think that I ought to feel worse somehow. My beaming face is back though and itchy forehead and ears. And the tips of my fingers are numb. Aaaaarrrrgh!

Right - I'm going to stop moaning! Promise.

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Feelin' Good

I've been feeling really good this weekend. I think that the Chemo is having a good effect and once you get over the first week when you feel a bit rubbish, then it's amazing how much you pick up.
In fact, I haven't felt this good since last October.

Bad news though - Preston Lodge got beat again and now there will be no escaping relegation.

For some reason, I always feel a bit low on a Monday - the Monday Morning Blues I expect.
I don't know why though, because I'm not going to work.

Oh well, it'll just have to be Tesco - again!


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Get On!

The Cheltenham Festival has been good for me.

The first two races on Tuesday returned a 12/1 and an 8/1 winner. Of the other two runners in my Yankee, one was a non-runner (which is good) and the other was 6/4 third.

I calculate that Mr Ladbroke will pay me back £64 but when I go to see him, he gives me £128.

Result!

(The difference is something to do with the non-runner.)

I decide to quit while I'm ahead and have no more bets during the meeting but it's good to see a fantastic race in the Gold Cup today when the great Denman is beaten by the greater Kauto Star.

It would have been good to go and meet the boys up in the pub to watch the racing this week but it's still way too dangerous to get into enclosed spaces and risk infection.

Maybe next year.

Denis came out to Dirleton for lunch today - well, bacon rolls.

It was good of him to come so far just for that but we had a right laugh recycling the same old stories that we've done for the past 30 years.

They're still funny though.

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Pride Comes Before a Fall

I'm definitely making lots of progress but rapidly getting bored with going to Tesco nearly every day. I still can't be bothered doing much else though.
All of this inactivity means that I'm not building up my strength as quickly as I'd hoped and my legs are still a bit weak and thin from having been lying on my bed in hospital for nearly a month.
This was evident tonight when I overbalanced a wee bit and took a step backwards in the living room. My leg just didn't take my weight. In what seemed like slow motion, I dropped like a stone.
Fortunately, I wasn't hurt but my pride took a dent and I got a right fright. It brings it home a bit that actually I might still have a way to go until I'm better.

To help pass the time, I've discovered SPORCLE the website of 'mentally stimulating diversions'.
Have a look. It's great and very addictive.
It's now my first 'Website of the Day' - I hope you like it as much as I do.

. . . . Gone Tomorrow

One week after Chemo 2 and I've been absolutely fine - sort of.

I haven't been sick or nauseous or anything but I have felt very lethargic and really haven't done anything constructive. I just canny be bothered.

However, I do know quite a lot more about the English canal system and I could probably build myself a traditional wooden boat if I wanted to - thanks to daytime TV!

I've also had a very hot and red face and head. In the great scheme of things, it's very trivial but it isn't half annoying and I'm taking every opportunity to complain about it to whoever will listen. I think it's caused by a slight allergic reaction to one of the R-CHOP drugs.
It's easing off as the week has gone on so I'm starting to feel a bit better and less hassled.

Oh aye - and as you can see - I've had my nut cut!

And I like it - very much.

It was a bit straggly and thin so Graham and I decided to see what it would be like when it was just cut short rather than shaved off snooker ball style. If it all falls out then we'll re-evaluate the situation but for now I've gone for a 'Guantanamo Bay'!

Remarkable fact of the day:

I've only had my hair cut by one barber - Graham - over the past 40 years.

I never get it cut on holiday or anywhere else and once when I was in hospital for eight weeks, I waited until I got out to get it cut.

In all that time, this is the first time that I've had a noticeably different style!

I'm going to make the most of it!

Put the Flags Out

An amazing thing's happened.

While sitting watching TV tonight, I gave out one of my usual coughs.

Nothing remarkable about that as I've been coughing almost non-stop since last October.

This time though, I thought I had hurt myself. In an instant, it felt as though my chest wall had detached itself from my rib cage. I could feel it 'detaching' right the way round from front to back and on to the front again in a clockwise direction. It's really hard to explain and it wasn't really sore - it just felt like it should be.

There's good news though . . . . . . .

I HAVEN'T COUGHED SINCE!

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