Chemo 5 - Nearly There

It's all very much routine.
I know the staff in Area 4 and most of the 'customers' are weel kent faces now. Even the time is coming down - about three and half hours today. That's as good as it gets.
I'm even confident that nothing major is going to happen to me after the dosage that we don't have to rush straight home anymore. We can stop off at M & S. What a treat!

The days after chemo are also pretty standard. I feel lousy for a few days (it used to be 2-3 days but now it's more like 5-6) and then I pick up and I'm generally fine for the next two weeks.
Ulcerative Colitis is also under control, thanks to the chemo. A plan is still to be devised as to what the future treatment will be once chemo has stopped. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Last night's tea was a triumph - Arbroath Smokie Risotto. Except I couldn't get Arbroath Smokies so made do with smoked haddock instead. It was still good though.
Cheffy Tip of the Day:
Have the risotto with a good crisp, chilled bottle of Sancerre or Chablis.
Then, if the risotto turns out to be rubbish, all is not lost. You've still got a great bottle of wine!

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This Sporting Life

The rugby season's over and it hasn't been great.
PL finished bottom of the league and were dumped out of the Bowl yesterday by Edinburgh University.
Scotland finished fifth in the Six Nations table but Ireland won the Grand Slam which was quite good.
There's still the Lions tour to South Africa to look forward to - maybe they'll fare better.

So, onwards and upwards - we're thinking about getting a new car. I'll need it for the far away trips to Thurso and Inverness next season!

Also - as well as the Lions Tour, there's Twenty20 cricket, Royal Ascot, the Ashes, Wimbledon (will Andy do it?) and The Open all to look forward to this Summer.
I wonder when I'll go back to work? Sounds like I'll be too busy to work!

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Art for Art's Sake

Today I felt fine and we decided to have half a day in Edinburgh.

We went to the National Gallery of Scotland to see the 'Turner in Italy' exhibition. It was really good - he could paint a bit you know.
This one's 'Rome from the Vatican'.
The whole place is good - especially the coffee shop - and worth a visit.

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Lucky Sevens - Lucky Us

Today, it's the Melrose Sevens.

Preston Lodge get two free hospitality tickets from Kukri, our kit supplier and the Committee have asked me if I would like them as a special treat.

Yes, please!

It's not that easy a decision to make as it's our own Sevens tournament today as well but it will be a good day out and just what we could do with given the news this week.

And the famous Fijian sevens star, Waisale Serevi, is making a farewell appearance, guesting for one of the teams. In his prime, he was the best, but today . . . . well, I'm no' sure he would make it into PL's second seven. It was good to see him though.

It was also a fantastic social occasion where Toffs and Smurfs and us mingled seamlessly in the crowd.

Although it was a braw, sunny day it got very cold later on and we left before the end. Instead of coming straight home though, we went for a run through the Border countryside, down past Selkirk and then over the hills to Peebles where we got fish suppers and ate them on a country road just out of town.

Runs in the car like this seemed a long, long way away in deepest, darkest January.

Another milestone is chalked off the list.

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Chemo 4 - And The Half Tme Score

Chemo 4 - you know the drill as well as me by now.
This time there's added spice because we've to tell the nurse to beep Dr Farquharson and she'll come down and give us the lowdown as to what's going on inside me - the result of last week's CT scan.
After about half an hour, I see her in the 'wee room' looking at the computer but then she disappears. Obviously, I'm not her only patient and she's a very busy lady. About an hour later, she re-appears in Area 4. My Chemo stuff is flowing in so it's just a case of waiting patiently. And nervously. And frightenedly. (That's probably not a proper adverb but you'll know what I mean.)
At last she arrives - as bright and breezy as ever. She's had a look at the scan . . . . and the news is . . . . :
Kidney - CLEAR!
Liver - MUCH REDUCED!
Everywhere else - NEGLIGIBLE!
I'll just repeat that:
Kidney - CLEAR!
Liver - MUCH REDUCED!
Everywhere else - NEGLIGIBLE!

All in all, it's as much, if not more than we could have hoped for at this stage.
It's incredible - this stuff really works.

What a relief. That's an understatement. It's all very emotional and even needed some high fives. We thank the Doc and then she's off again to save someone else.

This is actually the last time we'll see her in a professional capacity because Dr Davies is returning from his sabbatical and she's moving to pastures new. It doesn't seem enough just to say thanks for what she's done but it just can't be put into suitable words.
Thank you, Dr Farquharson. Despite the circumstances, it's been a pleasure meeting you and you've been brilliant.

After Chemo, the news is out. The Mums, Shona, Greg, everybody is happy and great messages and phone calls come flooding in.
This has been a great day - a Red Letter Day - the exact opposite of 21 January.

Now, I know it's only half time but least the n-hl knows that it's got a game on its hands. I reckon that the score is maybe 13-10 to us. (It got two early tries before we knew we were in the game but we've come back strongly and a late drop goal has given us the lead.)
And now it knows what it's up against! Team Craig are going to be no pushovers.
Bring on the second half.

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It's a Scan-dal

The days, weeks and months are rolling in and I haven't written a book or decorated the house but I have started to do some light work in the garden and greenhouse.

I asked Dr Farquharson if I'd be able to play the piano after my Chemo was finished and she said "Yes - of course!"

That's great, I said, because I can't play it at the moment.

Boom Boom!

- Nobody saw that one coming.

Anyway, today is the half time CT scan. It's been two weeks since Chemo 3 to give it the maximum chance to work and I'll get the result from Dr F when I come in for Chemo 4 next week.

Because I was so ill when I got the last one, I can't really remember what's involved - except for the aniseed drink. A great big jug of it!

Actually, it was ok. I kept up a steady pace of drinking a small amount each time over the hour and finished it off just in time. Then I had to get stripped and put on on of those daft, back to front gowns - try tying one of those to preserve your dignity when you can't feel your fingers!

Then it was into 'the chamber'.

I had forgotten that you get a further injection of 'contrast' and that it gives you a warm flush - especially in your bladder. It feels like you've wet yourself - weird! It's amazing how quickly the warm feeling circulates around your body. I could feel it in my ankles within a few seconds.

All we have to do now is wait nervously for (over) a week to find out what progress, if any, we've made.

It's funny how the Doc came in with the bad news within an hour and a half of the first CT scan but I have to wait eight days for any potential good news from this one. The machinations of NHS Scotland are hard to comprehend sometimes.